


MariChat MAYham

by AnnitaArtiste39



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2018-10-28 07:17:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10826427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnitaArtiste39/pseuds/AnnitaArtiste39
Summary: Okay, so.... Yes I'm still working on my other pieces, I just happened to see it was MariChat May, and the prompts, and I just HAD to be a part of it...*Just a note... I may not have all the stories put in on time as I have a job, other stories, a life... but I WILL try and go in order of the prompts, and if it carries over past May... Oh well, just say it's early for next year ;) =^_^= *





	1. 1. Milk

Chat sighed as he jumped from one rooftop to the other. It had been a looooong day of nothing but photo shoot after photo shoot after photo shoot. Poor boy didn’t even get to make it to school today, let alone see any of his friends, which really stunk… Nino was going to surprise Alya with a trip to an amusement park for their half-iversery, so Adrien was going to invite Mari over to play video games all night since it was Friday, and usually she and Alya went to the movies… Mari had been starting to calm down with the stuttering, and they were starting to become really good friends (or at least, he hoped so)… not to mention it was their last school day before summer vacation started up… then out of nowhere he found out his father had scheduled, not one but THREE different shoots, at THREE different locations, one right after the other. Adrien barely had any time to think, let alone talk to any of his friends (eh*hum Mari), and by the time he got home, it was already after nine at night… not only was there no time for her to come over now, but it was Chat Noir’s turn to patrol the city. And so, here he was, jumping from rooftop to rooftop as he made his way through the city. Suddenly he heard a loud wail. He froze for a moment… it was silent, maybe he was just hearing things. He had just started up again when he heard another wail. He was SURE he heard right this time. Quickly he began to follow the loud cries, leading straight to… the… Dupain-Cheng’s? ‘Oh No’ Chat picked up his speed as he drew closer, seeing an open window, he used his baton to spring him through, landing solid on his feet like the cat he was “Princess, I heard you screaming, are you alri-“  
“Chat?” Marinette turned to face the hero, revealing a small bundle wrapped in her arms, one she seemed to be both rocking and bouncing at the same time  
“Uhh… P-Princess? I-I didn’t realize, I-I mean I didn’t know, wha- w-when?” Just WHEN did Marinette have a BABY?! Mari stopped her movement as she glared at him  
“Chat… I’m not a mother”  
Chat sighed out in relief “Oh, thank goodness. I-I mean, not that you wouldn’t be a good mother, it’s just, well, y-you’re still in high school, and I would think that if you were seeing anyone you’d let your friends know, especially if it included another life being brought into the picture. Then there’s the whole ‘who’s the father’ deal, and I’m telling you what, if he went and got you pregnant and then refused to help you through it, then I may just have to-“  
“Chat, calm down” she placed a calming hand on his arm, stopping his rambling before it got out of hand. “okay, are you calm?” he nodded “Good. First off, I’m not pregnant, nor have I ever been pregnant, nor am I seeing anyone to even give the POSSIBILITY of becoming pregnant. Second, no, I’m not dating anyone that I could even THINK about anything like that, and thirdly, even if I WERE dating someone, there’s only one guy I’d actually like that to be, and I’m pretty sure he’s both responsible enough, and respectful enough to wait until we’re older before even THINKING about… th-that. However it doesn’t matter, he doesn’t even notice me, so, that’s that” Chat just blinked at her dumbly… she has a crush? On who? And why wouldn’t they notice her? Why does she sound so sure about this guy not liking her? And WHY was he suddenly feeling like ripping this guy’s head off for being so oblivious?!  
“Well… he’s an idiot. I’m mean, he’d have to be to not notice you. You’re just so awesome, and beautiful, and cool, and fun to be around” Mari stopped her movements again, staring at him with wide eyes and a slight blush forming on her cheeks  
“U-um… th-thanks… Chat…” Mari trailed off, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. They stayed like that for a moment longer before the bundle started crying again, pulling both teens from their stupor.  
“S-so um” Chat cleared his throat “who’s this little guy?” he asked as he walked closer to get a better look. Mari continued to bounce.  
“This is my little cousin. My Aunt and her husband had come up for a visit, and since my mom hadn’t seen her little sister in, like, forever, they decided to have a double date. So I’m watching him while they’re gone.”  
“Ah. That… that make sense”  
“More so than me suddenly having a child of my own?” she asked with a smirk  
“Much” he answered as a chuckle slipped out. “So, what time did they leave?”  
“Around… nine-ish, I think… they were going to go to dinner, window shop, and then head to the mov- Chat what time is it?” Chat pulled out his baton  
“Eleven forty-five, why do you ask?”  
“So that’s why you’re so fussy, huh?” she asked the little bundle in her arms. Then she looked to Chat “he’s hungry. He normally eats around eleven thirty. I didn’t realize time flew by so fast. Here.” She tried handing him off. Chat jumped back  
“Woah, what? Mar- Princess, I can’t, I-I mean-“  
“Common Chat, I have to go make a bottle for him, but I can’t leave him alone. He’s only thirteen weeks old.”  
“B-but I’ve never held a baby before”  
“It’s not that hard… here” she then proceeded to gently form Chat’s hands into a cradling position as she gently places the currently quiet infant in his arms “support the head and butt, like this… good. Now, if he starts to scream again, just gently bounce up and down like you saw me doing earlier… gently Chat, okay? I’m going to be right back” Chat looked at her with eyes full of fear… of all the Akuma attacks they’d been in, she had never seen him look so petrified in all her life  
“But Mari” he whined  
“You’ll be fine Chat” she chuckled “I’ll only be five minutes at the most” and with that she went down stairs.  
Once she was no longer in sight he finally took the chance to look down at the bundle and was surprised to see the small child staring back up at him. He had a full head of night black hair and vibrant green eyes ‘Woah. I… I wonder if this is what mine and Ladybug’s kid would look like’ Chat gave a slight smile at the infant… whose face immediately started to pout again before releasing a loud wail. Chat’s mind was freaking out as he tried to remember whether to rock or bounce the child, PRAYING that Mari would hurry back as soon as possible. And just like that, as if an answer to his prayers, said girl’s head popped back through the trapdoor before she walked back over to the two boys. Chat tried to hand the baby over, but Mari just simply shook her head and handed him the bottle, helping him to direct it to the child’s mouth, instantly shutting him up. Chat’s eyes grew wide in astonishment as the child began to fall asleep “What is this? A sedative or something?” Mari giggled  
“It’s milk goofball. Here, not too much at once, you have to burp him every two ounces” Chat just stared at her with confusion “Here” Mari threw a hand towel over her shoulder, took the child from Chat, handed Chat back the bottle, and proceeded to burp the baby. Then she used the towel to gently wipe his mouth before taking the bottle back and continue to feed him.  
Chat watched as she began to gently pace around the room, humming a gentle lullaby as the child ate. Slowly he crept up behind her and peeked over her shoulder… little one was asleep. Gently she laid the child on her bed while she changed his diaper for the night, then picked him up again and quietly started heading to her trap door, motioning Chat to follow her. Once downstairs she laid the child in his playpen, making sure to clear it of any toys, blankets or pillows. Once she was sure he wouldn’t wake up, she motioned Chat to follow her again, this time to the kitchen. “He should be out for the rest of the night now” she said as she got two cups down from the cupboards  
“How did you learn to do that?”  
“Do what?”  
“That…. All of that. You… You got him to be quiet, you got him to eat, to burp, to sleep… heck, you even changed him… how?” Mari shrugged  
“I guess I’ve just been babysitting for as long as I can remember… you pick up a thing or two that way you know” she smirked as she pulled a pack or cookies off of the top of the fridge door. “Hey, I left my laptop upstairs, if you’d want to run and grab it for me, we can have a movie night until my parents get home… the duel headphone jack should be plugged into it already, and we have extra earphones here in the junk drawer.”  
“Oh, yeah, sure.”  
When Chat came back down, Mari was standing by the playpen, watching the little one sleep with pure admiration written all over her face. “I stand corrected” Marinette’s head instantly flew up at his sudden proclamation “even if you were to be one right now… you’d be a wonderful mother” and the blush was back… for both of them  
“Thanks Chat. That means a lot, even if I may never get the chance.”  
“Eh, don’t let that oblivious jerk get you down. Besides, if it doesn’t work out, you’ve always got me” he wiggled his eyebrows. She giggled  
“Was that a purrposal?” Chat blinked, then smirked  
“MAYbe… depends… was that a pun?”  
“And if it was?” somehow they had been getting closer together without either of their knowing, so much so that now they were about an inch away from their noses touching. This sudden realization brought them back to reality as they each jumped a foot away. Chat scratched the back of his neck while Mari brushed her hair behind her ear again “Movie?”  
“Movie”  
they both cuddled together under the pile of blankets as they sat the laptop on the coffee table. Then Mari put a bowl of popcorn and a pack of Oreos between them as she handed Chat a glass  
“Cookies and milk?”


	2. 2. Purring

The next night Chat was on Patrol again, or at least… that’s what he called it. Honestly, Ladybug had already finished Patrol hours ago (it was her night after all), but after having, yet, ANOTHER argument with his father, he couldn’t take the stress anymore. He needed to release tension… he needed to run… so that’s what he did, he ran across the rooftops of Paris, blinded by his distracted mind. Finally he landed on a random roof, gripped the balcony railing, and screamed at the top of his lungs until he felt he would pass out… this had become somewhat of an outlet for him… when the stress became just too much, he would run around, find a random roof, and scream all his frustrations out. It was after midnight. Everyone was already asleep. And whether they could tell it was the hero or just slept through it, no one had ever seemed to call the cops on him… yet. Chat stood there, head down, gripping the railing for dear life, eyes squeezed tight, bawling like a baby. He could feel it coming, it was building up in his chest, he braced himself… here it comes- “Chat Noir?” his scream was ripped from his throat… that voice… he knew that voice… Chat quickly opened his eyes and spun around only to find  
“Princess?” his eyes grew wide as he realized what had just happened… he was on her roof, he had screamed, probably woke her, causing her to come up and check on whatever that noise could be. She was dressed in her PJ’s, hair up in a single ponytail with her big fluffy blanket still wrapped around her… yep. He had definitely woken her. And if he had woken her, he could have woken her parents, and her parents had guests over, what if he had woken them? What if he had woken- Chat’s eyes widened in fear  
“Oh my gosh, Mari please tell me I didn’t wake the baby” the girl only blinked at the hero in confusion before realization shown on her face. She smiled gently as she climbed up through the window, slowly approaching the cat-man like he could take flight any minute  
“No Chat, you didn’t. They left this morning to go visit my Grandmother before they had to return home. Her smile fell as she wiped a stray tear from his eye “Are you okay?”  
“Who me?” he gently pulled her hand away like nothing was wrong “Never better, you?”  
“Chat… what are you doing out so late?”  
“I was on my Patrol when I guess I just needed a little breather” Mari frowned more as she crossed her arms  
“Okay, one.” She held up a single finger “Don’t lie to me. Ladybug already did her round earlier because it was her night, and two.” She added another “You call screaming almost to the point of passing out, taking a breather?” her arms fell as she looked up into his eyes, pure-genuine concern flowing through her own. Chat gulped… he’d been caught, she knew he was lying, and the only way out of this would be to hightail it out of there… like, right now… he slowly started to reach behind his back for his baton “If you don’t want to talk to me, then…” she sighed “I suppose I can see if I can get a hold of Ladybug.” She started to turn around, heading back towards the trapdoor leading to her bedroom “Maybe she can meet you at the Eiffel Tower or somethin-“  
“NO!” Chat quickly grabbed hold of her shoulder, enforcing her to spin back around to face him. She looked shocked “No, please Mari, don’t… its been a long week, she probably JUST got back from Patrol, heck, she’s probably already asleep… I don’t want to bother her with my problems” She placed a gently hand on his cheek, causing his heart to skip a beat  
“Chat, you are not a bother” she nearly whispered “whatever’s going on, you can talk to me… I promise not to judge you, but to try and help you” her thumb had begun gently rubbing his cheek. He sighed… there was absolutely no way out of this.   
“Princess, while I appreciate the settlement, I’m afraid this particular thing I can’t discuss with you… unless you WANT to know my Civilian self” the girl looked away before pulling him into an embracing hug, wrapping them both in her big fluffy blanket, hiding half of her face in his chest  
“… no… I’m sorry Chat, I really am, but… we really shouldn’t. I mean, while I would love to know who you really are… it’s too dangerous right now with Hawkmoth and his stupid Akumas flying around. But, maybe once w-y-you and Ladybug defeat him…” Chat, who had just been standing there in shock, finally broke as he wrapped his arms around her petite form and planted his face into her hair. Someone wanted to know who he was? And not just anyone… Marinette. Marinette wanted to know who the boy currently crying in her hair was… would she be happy? Would she be up to late-night conversations? Would she offer more of those delicious cookies and milk? Would- would she hate him? Tell him to never come back for lying to her all this time?... no… this is Marinette he’s talking about. The sweetest, kindest, loyalist, talented, most beautiful- “are you okay?” he sighed into her hair as he nodded against her head. She began to unwrap herself from around him, gently grabbed his hand and lead him to her waiting lounge chair “here. Sit with me” she sat down, leading him to sit right beside her. Then her big fluffy blanket became three as she removed two top layers, folding one up for her lap, and offering the third to Chat himself… chat inwardly chuckled at the girl, just how many blankets did one girl need? He wrapped the blanket around himself and allowed the girl beside him to guide his head down to her waiting make-shift pillow on her lap before she started playing with his hair and scratching behind his cat ears… how did she know? They staid like that for what felt like hours, but really was only a few minutes, Chat sighed out the last of his sour day as he allowed Mari’s magic fingers to erase ever bad mood he’d had that day. “So… what was that all about earlier? Y-you don’t have to tell me, it’s just-”  
“I… I was having a bad day… I got into another argument with my father and the stress was eating me alive, so… I went through my stress-relief ritual”  
“Your ritual?”  
“Usually I transform, run around until I can’t take it anymore, land on some random roof, and scream it all out as loud as I can until I either feel like I’m about to pass out, or I feel better” her hand stopped for a moment before resuming their ministrations  
“How often-”  
“Usually, around once a month, but lately… between two to three times a week.” He chuckled “I’m honestly surprised I hadn’t woken anyone else up… you’re the first to find me” Mari sighed… uh oh  
“thatexplainsit” she mumbled “Chat… I hate to break it to you, but… you have been waking people. You’re quite louder than you think. In fact, I actually overheard one of my classmates, Maylene, talking about how she had woken up three times in the last month to the sounds of someone screaming” Chat stiffened in place, causing Mari to pause her hand movement. He had woken Maylene? Could he be anymore stupid? And if Maylene had heard it, and Mari had heard it, then surly Ladybug would have heard about- Mari began to scratch him again, helping him to relax back into her lap “shhh… down kitty. I understand what you’re going through, you’re under a lot of stress what with Hawkmoth being a villain, you being a hero, and not to mention your civilian alter-ego’s daily life, but… maybe… you should find a new outlet for your stress… okay?” he sighed (he was doing a lot of that tonight)  
“Yeah, okay” they sat there together, him laying on her lap facing away from her and her scratching over his head, both perfectly content with the arrangement.   
“You know… I meant what I said earlier… you can always come to me with anything… whether you just need to vent, hide-away, cry, or even if you’re just feeling lonely… I promise I won’t judge you. I mean… it’s the least I can do since you risk your life daily to help protect Paris and Ladybug” Chat placed a gently clawed hand on her knee cap, gently rubbing it with the pad of his thumb as a sign of gratitude  
“Thanks Princess. You know… Usually Ladybug does that to me, you know, the scratching my ears thing, it’s… it’s so soothing and calming… actually, I’d have to say it’s one of my favorite things in the world… you knew, right next to raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens” he smirked when he heard and felt her giggle below him… good, she got the reference. Hu turned to lay on his back, now facing up at his Princess “But really-“  
“So… this relaxes you then?” she asked looking down at him, a gently smile on her face as her eyes sparkled like the stars on a clear night  
“Yeah” he sighed out  
“Then it’s settled… When you need an outlet, and Ladybug’s not around… you can come here. Okay?” his heart skipped not one, not two, but three beats at the offer. Was she serious? Was she really opening up her home to him when the stress became too much?  
“A-are you sure?”  
“It beats waking people up, and it’s really no problem for me, I’m more of a night owl than a morning bird anyways” she adjusted herself to where she could lean back against the back of her chair, causing Chat to literally be laying between her legs on his make-shift pillow as she began to massage his temples. She was too good for him.  
“Thank you Princess” he whispered as he closed his eyes, allowing his wonderful, talented, smart, compassionate, amazing, confident, beautiful classmate to massage away any reminder stress he was holding. Before he knew it, he was at complete peace. Heck, he had even forgotten what had him so worked up in the first place. And as she softly started to hum a lovely lullaby above him, he found himself unable to control the low vibration that came from his throat. She paused a moment, in both her movement and her song. He peeked an eye open at her, a slight pout on his face from her stopping  
“You purred” he shrugged  
“I’m a cat Princess, it’s what happens when we’re happy and at peace” honestly, he had no idea if this was true as it had never happened before, but seeing as he was so content and relaxed, he couldn’t find it in himself to be embarrassed about it right now (tomorrow morning however, is a different story). Seeming satisfied with his answer, Marinette begins scratching at his head again, picking up on her lullaby where she had left off, letting Chat close his eyes again, relax against her, purring to his hearts content.


	3. Homework

“UGH!” Marinette scrubbed her hands through her hair in frustration “WHAT the HECK am I supposed to DO?!”  
“Calm down Marinette. You have all summer break, I’m sure you’ll think of something” Tikki softly spoke as her charge began pacing through her room  
“But… I mean… French History… Tikki, WHY do we even NEED to take French History? I mean… we literally LIVE in PARIS, FRANCE!” Mari fell dramatically, face first onto he chaise lounge “I mean… World History, I can understand, but… FRENCH history? Ugh! I mean, history... Literature... Science... even Math... These teachers hate me... WHY do we even HAVE to have homework during our mid-year vacation anyway? That's why I was TRYING to just get it all over with as soon as possible and just... get it out of the way” Tikki giggled at her charge  
“Oh Marine- EEP!” Mari stayed in that position for a moment longer, waiting for the little ancient god of luck to continue… but it never came, instead…  
“Princess? Are you alright?” Mari turned her head to see Chat Noir poking head upside down from her balcony trap door, a concerned look on his face  
“Oh. Hey Chat” she turned her head back into the cushion. Chat jumped through the window, landing on his feet in the middle of her floor  
“Uh, hey. Are… Are you okay?” Marinette let out a loud groan. Chat looked from the pouting girl, to her coffee table, before walking over to it and picking up the opened French History book. His eyes widened as he looked from the book to the girl. A sly smirk formed on his face “Why Princess, if you wanted to ask a man about HISS-STORY, all you’d have to do is ask” he grinned widely as he bent down towards the girl. Honestly, he could understand her delima. He'd had to miss the ENTIRE last day of school himself, so when he was notified about all the homework he'd need done before the next semseter started... needless to say... he was shocked. Although, not as much as when he was told that, due to BOTH their absences, both he and Sabrina would be working together for Literature... hey, at least she was reliable (unlike a certain blonde he knew)  
“UUUGH!!! WAS DA OIN?! WY OO WE HAVE OO EARN AT SUPID RENSH ISORY EMYWAY?!”  
“Huh?” Chat tilted his head. Mari groaned one more time before turning her head towards the unexpected guest  
“I said… What’s the point? Why do we have to learn that stupid French History anyway?” Mari pouted as she sat up, pulling her knees up to her chin, making room for the laughing cat-hero to sit beside her “I mean… it’s all in the past. It’s all done and over with. It’s not like we have anything like that to worry about these days... I mean, isn’t it enough that we deal with Akuma on a nearly daily basis?”  
“Princess… what are you talking about?” Chat asked with a smirk “Of course our history is important. The Revolutionary War, the Catacombs, Notre Dame… each story tells us a little bit more of where came from. What our ancestors went through for us to get to where we are now. Such as how we came from serving under royalty, to becoming an independent people. Or World War II, where France teamed up with Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, the Soviet Union, China and America to defeat Germany, Italy and Japan. And then there’s- you know what… what if I showed you?”  
“Huh?” Chat stood to his feet and held his hand out to her  
“Common Princess, what better way to learn history than to experience it yourself?” and with that, he scooped her up in his arms (Princess style, of course) and dashed out the balcony window, laughing at the squeal of surprise that came from the girl in his arms. He jumped two roofs over, before switching her to his back “hold on tight Princess” Mari’s arms and legs tightened around him as he grabbed his baton and began jumping through Parisian night. Finally, the stopped in front of the Eiffel tower. Chat lowered them both to the ground, before stepping to stand behind Marinette, covering her eyes with his leather covered hands  
“Chat? What are you-”  
“Princess” he whispered in her ear “Close your eyes” he waited until he felt her eyelids close before he moved his hands from her eyes to her shoulders “Now imagine… it’s 1887. Imagine what the people look like. It’s dark, but the one-hundred-thirty-two builders are still working. Working to create the beautiful tower before us. It wasn’t meant to last, in fact, it would only take two years to have it completely built. Just in time for the 1889 World’s Fair, which was to celebrate the one-hundredth anniversary of the French Republic. It would remain the world’s tallest structure, at 1,023 ft high, for the next forty years. Gaslights would light the tower until 1909. During World War I, it was used to relay Zeppelin alerts, and coded messages during World War II. Can you imagine Princess?” he moved to stand in front of her. She opened her eyes “Can you imagine, if this tower had never been built? Or had been taken down? How many lives would have been lost during the great wars? Personally, I’d say it’s one of my favorite spots. You see… I often meet m’Lady up there, and you know… it’s really peaceful” Chat smiles as he gazes to the tower. Mari sighs… she could picture it all… and it was amazing. “Ready to go on Princess?” he turned his back to her, waiting until she adjusted herself on his back before taking off to the rooftops again.   
When they touch down, he slips behind her again to cover her eyes. Mari giggles as he holds his head close to her ear to whisper “It’s 1163, as men are busy beginning the construction of one of the greatest Cathedrals in the world. Notre Dame, with its flying buttress’, spectacular Biblical statue illustrations, gargoyles, and rose window, took two-hundred years to complete. During the French Revolution, however, Notre Dame was desecrated and vandalized, soon it became the temple for the goddess of Reason… It wouldn’t be til the 1800’s that the Catholic’s had the grand Cathedral given back to them with Napoleon Bonaparte’s coronation. In fact, the story of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ actually inspired the restoration of Notre Dame back to its original Gothic Era glory. Many great visitors have come to visit this cross-shaped, wonderful work of art, including a large amount of Popes over the many years.” Marinette opened her eyes, staring at the boy still standing behind her, as he seemed to stare straight ahead at the grand Cathedral. “Notre Dame… she’s seen a lot… war, vandalism, restoration, executions, sanctuary, desecration, coronations, revolutions, love, hate… she’s welcomed new life in with open arms, learned confessions of many, watched over dear souls as the attended to heaven… she’s seen life, and she’s seen death, and yet… she still stands tall and strong.”  
“… wow” Chat’s eyes widened as he finally looks at the girl, almost as if he’d completely forgotten she was here in the first place “H-how do you-”  
“So, ready to move on?” Chat looked at his baton… his face was a bright pink “It looks like we might have time for one more stop… th-that is, if you’re up to it” Marinette smiled lightly at her sweet kitty  
“Sure, that sounds find” Mari easily climbed back onto his back. Chat cleared his throat and then they were off. When they landed in the middle of the grand garden, Mari’s hands flew to her mouth as she gasped  
“Although originally built in 1631 as a hunting lounge, by 1682, King Louis XII’s son, Louis XIV had the grand palace we see today built, before moving the nation’s government and court here. However, it would only stay that way until 1789, when a hungry and irritable revolution stormed in and forced the son and his Queen, Marie Antoinette, out, forcing them to run back home to Paris, which eventually led to their beheadings”  
“That’s awful” Mari looked horrified. Chat just stared back  
“Awful is the fact that, just because they were rich, they thought they were better than everyone else who served under them. Awful is the fact that they left countless people hungry and dying in the streets while they clearly had enough food to throw so many parties with, I quote, ‘distinguished guests’. Awful is the fact that they even put their people in that position in the first place where they felt like they HAD to forcefully take back their homes… their own lives.” Chat took a step forward, keeping his back to her, folding his hands behind him “You see… glory… riches… power… it can go to your head so easily. And should that happen… it’s hard to break that chain.” he sighed “Honestly… I’d say that’s one of my biggest fears. I was born into one of the wealthiest families in all of France, and as such, I’ve always been provided with whatever I could ever want or need. But my Mother… my… m-mother… she was so kind, and humble, and pure… she taught me what real value is. What’s really important to have a real, happy life. She taught me that material objects will all fade away someday, how o-once you’re… gone… n-none of that can go with you. But the real treasures in life… are the friendships, relationships, and actions you leave behind. That’s how others will remember you… so… s-so… you should work to leave a grand legacy. That’s why… well, that’s one reason that… I wanted to go to school, that try to always obey my father, even somewhat why I accepted becoming Chat Noir. I mean, yeah, the ultimate freedom is awesome, I can run the roofs of Paris, fight Akumas, I got to meet my Lady… I love helping others, with and without the mask, but… a part of me… does it… for her… for… m-my mom” Chat sniffed. Marinette gently laid a hand on his shoulder. Surprised, he turned to look at the girl, revealing his tear filled eyes  
“Oh Chère” Marinette gently cupped his face as her thumb wiped away a stray tear. She gave him a small smile, which seemed to break him, as his head suddenly found her shoulder and he sobbed. The smaller girl quickly wrapped him into a tight embrace, letting him cry all he needed as she whispered encouraging words in his ear and gently petted his head “shh… it’s okay”, “you have nothing to worry about”, “you’re too kind to become like Louise and Marie Antoinette”, “I’m here”, “your mother would be proud of you”. After a few minutes, Chat’s sobs slowed to a stop. Marinette and Chat Noir stayed in their silent hug for the next five minutes  
“Thank you” Chat whispered, breaking the silence as he pulled back to look her in the eye. She smiled at him and wiped a last tear from his cheek  
“There’s no need for thanks kitty, it’s true. I’m here for you. Just remember, No matter what, you’ll always have a friend.” Chat smiled, then he offered his hand to her, to which she softly took. For the next half an hour, the two spent walking through the garden, admiring the many beautiful flowers, wonderful trees, and magnificent groundworks. They had just made it to the fountain when Mari let out a small yawn. Soon she was climbing back onto his back and they were racing back to the bakery. About half way there though, Chat felt her hold loosen a bit as her head rested against his back and her breathing evened out… Chat chuckled to himself. She had fallen asleep (not that he could blame her, he kept her out since about 11pm). Softly, he landed on her balcony, before gently taking her in his arms, using his foot to open her hatch, and gently lowered them both onto her bed, carefully tucking her in for the night. Chat watched as she got comfortable in her bed, before brushing her bangs from her eyes, and softly kissing her forehead.  
“Good night Princess” he whispered. Later, he would have to deal with Plagg nagging him for why he thought such an action was appropriate for “just friends”, but for now… Chat cheerfully made his way back home, a little excited to ask how Marinette’s essay was turning out tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All facts about the Historical places I researched before hand... here's where I got my info from
> 
> Eiffel Tower~  
> http://www.history.com/topics/eiffel-tower#
> 
> Notre Dame~  
> http://www.notredamecathedralparis.com/history  
> https://frenchmoments.eu/notre-dame-de-paris/
> 
> Versailles~  
> http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/versailles/
> 
> Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it. sorry its so late, but I did say in the beginning that I wouldn't be able to post everyday.  
> Remember, like, subscribe, share, and comment, comment, COMMENT!!! XD  
> Please?
> 
> =^_^=


	4. Romeo

Marinette paced back and forth on her balcony as she looked over the honorary book in her hand... or at least... it SHOULD have been honorary. In truth, Marinette just couldn't get into it... of COURSE the Literature teacher would want them to choose a book/play to read up on... of COURSE they were then told to come up with a creative, ORIGINAL presentation for it... and of COURSE they were forced to add CHLOE to their group since Sabrina was at home with chicken pox... the worst part... ADRIEN had been at a photo shoots ALL day, thus, missing the LAST day of school before Summer Break, THUS, leaving an opening for Chloe in the first place... they were already THREE days into their vacation and she still had NOTHING… Marinette groaned, then she sighed. Chloe had suggested (more like demanded) they use Romeo and Juliet ("it's only the absolute BEST romance novel in the history of the WORLD after all") and that they play out her "favorite part"... the balcony scene... It was due the first day back (so around September somewhere… giving them ONLY 3-4 MONTHS to come up with an original concept, practice, perfect it… and indulge Chloe)... Marinette sat the book down and rubbed her face before picking it back up and reading/mumbling out loud...  
"Oh Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo, bla-bla-blah... UGH!!!" Marinette squeezed her bangs in frustration. Just then she heard someone slow-clapping  
"Claw-some job Princess, although I'm not sure her cat-itude was quits so bored as yours seems to be" Marinette turned around to find Chat Noir... standing beside her chimney... on her roof  
"How long have you been standing there?" She rushed out  
"Long enough to know that... you really don't want to do this, do you?" Mari hung her head in defeat  
"No. The truth is, I just can't bring myself to like such a tragic story with such a tragic ending… I mean, if it ended differently, MAYBE I could bring myself to like it, but as it stands… I guess I just have a thing for happy endings. Besides... it was all Chloe's idea, so, it's not like I have a speaking role or anything"  
"Wait, what? You're working, together... with Chloe?"  
"We didn't have much of a choice. Adrien had multiple photo shoots, and Chloe was alone since Sabrina was sick at home... and unfortunately, all of the other groups were complete groups of four... so, like I said... we had no choice" Marinette rested her head on her folded arms as she leaned on her balcony, overlooking Paris. She heard Chat shift to sitting  
"W-well... I'm sure if he knew what would happen in his absence, A-Adrien would have tried harder to get back to school on time.”   
“Yeah, he might have, but… would it have made a difference? I mean… Chloe STILL would have been on her own, and if Adrien WERE there, she would have suggested to join OUR group just to get closer to him… andtogegtundermyskin…”  
“What?”  
“Nothing” the two stayed there for a moment longer  
“So… what exactly do you have against Romeo and Juliet?” Chat asked, hopping down from the roof to her balcony, before picking up the book and flipping through it  
“It’s not so much I have anything against it… I mean, the plot’s great and all, it’s just… have you ever even read it before?”  
“No, I haven’t. But I have seen the anime story of it” Marinette’s expression flattened  
“Spoilers, they die, Chat Noir. They both die. End of story. She takes a potion to make it seem she dies, he finds her and poisons himself at her side, she wakes to find him dead and takes a dagger to her own heart.”  
“But… doesn’t the whole family feud end when both families find them together? In fact, they have a statue made for them, didn’t they?”   
“They still died though… their stupid families’ feud made it to where they felt like the only way they could be together… was through death. She was only twelve years old, Chat… she hadn’t even reached high school age before she fell in love, married, and killed herself.” She turned her back on him, pouting as she folded her arms over her chest  
“Marinette… it’s not real… why does this upset you so much?” he asked as he cautiously walked towards the girl, like he was afraid he could spook her  
“… she fell in love young, and yet, she had to die… you know… when I first met him, a friend of mine suggested I read Romeo and Juliet. I don’t think she realized I’d never read it before… at first… I really liked it. It was sweet, romantic, charming… I just about died when they eloped… I kept rereading their meeting scene over and over again… I kept imagining what it would be like if… i-if my crush and I were in their place-”  
“Y-your… crush?”  
“But then… they died. And it got me thinking… I don’t want to be like Romeo and Juliet… but I’m afraid… it’s too late. I NEVER want to lose him. In fact, if I ever did… knowing I’d live in a world without him… that alone would drive me over the edge, and… I-I’m afraid-” suddenly she was turned around, facing her companion as he gently took her hand  
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence Princess” he whispered “Please don’t. If you really l-love this boy as much as you say, I can only imagine he would NEVER want any sort of harm to come to you. And should he ever come to harm you, I vow, as your loyal knight, I shall hunt him down like that of Tybalt, and he shall face me, spears at the ready. For I vow, no harm shall come upon a single hair of your precious head” Okay, so maybe she has a crush. She STILL wouldn’t say who it was, but… he wasn’t jealous. I mean, he LOVES Ladybug, so in all honesty, this sickening and angry feeling in his gut was just him being a good (overprotective) friend, looking out for one of the kindest, sweetest, cutes- *ehmm* one of the BEST girls in Paris he knows (or at least, that’s what he was telling himself)  
“Chat Noir… are you trying to quote the book?... you’re doing it wrong” Chat blinked back at her… had he been talking like the characters or something… great. He did it again… there’s a reason he never watches anime or attends plays with other people around… he has this habit of getting into character based on whatever he read, watched or listened to… he blamed the modeling… hmm… maybe… maybe he could use this to his advantage… Chat’s eyes softened, and his stance calmed. Then he gently took her hand, and turned it over in his palm, gently running a gloved finger over her palm  
“Chat?”  
“If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss” Marinette stared wide-eyed into his glowing, bright, soft, green eyes… did he just…  
“Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.” She found herself saying as she snatched her hand back, holding it close to her chest as she turned her back to him again, trying to hide the very plain embarrassment showing on her face  
“Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?” she rolled her eyes at him, a slight smirk forming on her lips… he was really getting into character here  
“Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.” She shot back. This was kinda fun  
“O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do; they pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair” boy, he was good, she almost believed he meant every word  
“Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake” she wanted to giggle at the absurdity of it all… but instead, found her breath hitch as she felt him wrap his arms around her from behind, gently taking her hand as he rested his head on her left shoulder  
“Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take. Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.” He whispered as he gently lifted her small hand to meet his lips. Her breath caught again  
“Chat?” she whispered. Sure, he’d kissed her hand plenty of times, but… not from behind like that and… n-not as Marinette… honestly, she just didn’t know how to take it.  
“Sorry Princess… I-I guess… I just wanted you to see how J-Juliet might have felt. B-but, you know, without the kissing” Chat took a step back, forcing Marinette to turn around to see him. He wouldn’t look at her  
“Chat?” Mari took a soft, gentle step towards him  
“I-I mean… it’s like… y-you’re in love with someone else… right?” Mari hesitated for a moment  
“r-right…”  
“The same goes for me. I fell in love with her the first day I met her. She’s smart, brave, funny, brilliant, beautiful-”  
“I get it” Mari interrupted, feeling quite confused… why was she getting so agitated over Chat talking about his crush?... no, not his crush… the girl he loved… no… n-no way… she was NOT feeling…  
“Anyway” Chat scratched the back of his neck nervously “I… I love her… I love Paris… L-Ladybug and I… we’re a team. We patrol, we fight akuma, we try to help the victims after their release… I… LOVE being a hero. It gives me a freedom I’d never had before. I can literally jump off buildings, climb the Eiffel Tower, pole vault into the sky, run the length of Paris in less than an hour, heck, I even have the super power of destruction in the palm of my hand… but Ladybug… now there’s a hero. She fights using a yo-yo, she has both Lucky Charm AND the Healing element. She cleanses the akuma like it’s the easiest thing in the world… and she’s the only one who can. It’s MY job to protect her. To be sure that she survives… no matter what. My life… it’s just simply a tool to make sure she could live another fight, but other than that… I’m replaceable. Heck, anyone could do what I do… even CHLOE could do what I do. So, yeah, I take the hits. I jump in front of her. I push her aside… and I would do it again in a heartbeat. She’s so important to everyone… heck, needs be, I’d even lay my life-”  
*SMACK!!!*  
Chat held his now sore cheek, eyes blown wide as he stared, in shock, at the angry tear filled girl before him… Had Marinette… just… SLAPPED him?  
“Don’t you dare… DON’T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT KILLING YOURSELF JUST SO SHE CAN HAVE ANOTHER DAY! YOU! ARE NOT! ROMEO! SHE IS NOT JULIET! YOU’RE HER PARTNER! HER BEST FRIEND! YOU ARE NOT REPLACEABLE! WHO WAS IT THAT EVEN GOT HER TO FIGHT IN THE FIRST PLACE, HMM?! STOP PUTTING HER ON THIS PEDASTOOL IF YOU REFUSE TO BE UP THERE WITH HER! YOU STUPID! STUPID CAT! STOP BEING SO WRECKLESS ALL THE TIME! DO YOU HOW MANY TIMES ALREADY SHE’S ALMOST LOST YOU?! HOW MANY TIMES HER HEART FELL BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT ‘I’VE LOST HIM FOR GOOD THIS TIME’?! FOR MIRACULOUS SAKE CHAT, STOP BEING SO SELFLESS ALL THE TIME! IT KILLS HER EVERY TIME SHE LOSES YOU, YOU KNOW! YOU SUPPORT HER LIKE NO ONE ELSE CAN! AND IF ANYTHING EVER HAPPENED TO YOU, IF YOU WERE SUDDENLY GONE, I DON’T THINK SHE COULD CONTINUE! NO, I KNOW SHE COULDN’T! YOU MEAN SO MUCH MORE TO HER THAN YOU COULD EVER KNOW, ANYONE CAN SEE THAT! YOU’RE PARTNERS… YOU NEED EACH OTHER! LADYBUG NEEDS YOU! DON’T LEAVE ME!!!” Chat just stared down at the girl who’d previously been pounding on his chest (hard he might add) as she yelled at him, but now… her fists froze against his chest and her sobs began to grow before he wobbly knees finally decided that they were done. Chat bent down, and caught her Princess style, before walking over to her lounge chair and sitting down, allowing her to sit on his lap, her sobs slowing to a soft sniffle.  
Did she really think so highly of him? Then of course, she couldn’t understand what signing up to be a hero really meant… and good thing too, he would HATE to see her EVER put herself, directly in harm’s way… he’d be too scared to lose her… after all, she was one of his best friends… Chat suddenly understood what Marinette was saying “Shhh… Princess… it’s alright…. I would never leave you… I’m not going anywhere… I promise”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you all enjoyed it. sorry its so late, but I did say in the beginning that I wouldn't be able to post everyday.  
> Remember, like, subscribe, share, and comment, comment, COMMENT!!! XD  
> Please?
> 
> =^_^=


	5. 5. The Baton

“Do you think he’ll like it Tikki?”  
“Oh Marinette, I think he’ll be honored you thought of him while having it made”  
“Well, I mean, I see it all the time, and… I don’t know, the yo-yo just”  
“I think you made a wise choice Marinette. For one, Alya’s going to LOVE the yo-yo, and for another, if you DID keep that one and given her this, it could be easier to discover your secret identity. Plus, I just KNOW that Chat Noir is going to completely love that you’re such a devoted fan”  
“W-well…” Mari sighed “after the talk we had yesterday, I realized… Chat doesn’t hold himself up to his proper standards, you know? And… it doesn’t help that it seems like everyone and their mothers love Ladybug… for some reason more… he deserves just as much respect and devotion, and if this is how I can show him my support outside the mask…” Mari smirked “then it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to take”

Marinette was just putting the finishing touches on her latest (joint) project, when she heard the barely noticeable landing on her balcony (anyone else may have thought it was a cat, and I guess, in a way… they’d be right, just… NOT the kind of “cat” they imagined… Marinette knew better), signaling for Tikki to hide. Mari kept her back towards the window, smirking as she felt the slight vibrations (thank you super-senses) of the ever so soft padding across the floor getting closer as he tried to sneak up behind her. He was right behind her now, gearing up to give her the fright of her life, when-  
“If you make me mess this up, I’m restricting your yarn services for a week” Mari giggled as she turned around to see him a few steps back, staring at her as if she just told him she was getting a puppy  
“H-how did you…”  
“How did I… WHAT Chaton?” Mari asked as she rose from her seat, teasingly making her way over to him… Chat gulped  
“H-how did you k-know I w-was”  
“You’re really not as quiet as you think kitty” she stopped right in front of him, causing him to catch his breath as she began to lean in…   
‘w-wh-what is she doing? Is this really happening? Why am I not trying to stop this? Do I want this? I-I mean, I know we’ve been getting close, but… th-this is Marinette, m-my… friend... she runs at the mere sight of my civilian form, and yet… she has no problem talking with Chat.. w-wait a minute… d-does this mean she… Is she really about to ki-‘  
“Boop” Chat blinked in surprise as he scrunched up his nose, causing Marinette to fall backwards laughing, and Chat to cross his arms and pout… she booped his nose. “You, Y-You should see the look on your face!” she stated between laughs  
“Ha ha ha, very funny Princess… likeIexpectedanythingelse…” he mumbled as he turned his head away from her. Her laughter died down as she put his expression and reaction together  
“Wait, what? Let’s be serious here Chat, there is NO WAY I would EVER even CONSIDER… THAT… with you of all people. I love you and all, but… like a brother… like Nino, or Kym, or Nathaniel.” Okay, why did his heart stop when she said the L word? She’s like a sister… a really sweet, really polite, really beauti- WHAT?! NO! BAD CHAT! You like LADYBUG… like? “You just happen to have midnight sneak-out privileges. Okay? And besides…” she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as she avoided eye contact, her blush giving her a bashful pink tint “my heart already belongs to someone else” Chat was glad she wasn’t looking at him at the moment, as he was trying to mask his look of hurt and pick his heart back up from where it had fallen to his feet… why was SHE causing this? He loves Ladybug… right?   
“Right… so… working on a new project?” Mari blinked up at the (quite obvious) change of topic, but honestly, she was fine with it  
“Yeah actually… I am”  
“Mind if I see?” Mari smirked, walked over to her desk, wrote something down, then walked back over to the now confused superhero, handing him the small piece of paper  
“Call this number, I promise you’ll love it” Chat looked down at the given number… he didn’t recognize it, could… could it be Ladybugs?! I mean… she and Mari were friends… right? But… shouldn’t he be getting it from HER herself? Chat’s brows scrunched together in confusion, but he would oblige the girl… she’s never done anything to deem her untrustworthy to him, so…  
“Can I borrow your phone?” Mari shook her head  
“Nice try kitty. Use your baton… I hear it works like a cell phone, right?” she was smirking… okay, maybe he spoke to soon… the girl was DEFINETLY up to something  
“Oookay” he dragged out as he pulled his baton out, cautiously putting the given number in before bringing it to his ear. After a moment he heard the ringtone version of the Miraculous song Jagged Stone had written for Ladybug… okay, so Mari actually found the song in ringtone… that’s pretty cool.  
“Hello?” Or at least, that’s what he thought… until she turned around… holding her own baton phone to her ear. Chat’s jaw dropped  
“WHAT?!” he quickly hung up before rushing over to inspect the new “toy”. Mari giggled at his enthusiasm, it was like a kitten just discovering a laser for the first time… hmm… maybe she could have Max include oooone more little detail “But the- when the- what the-… how?”  
“My classmate, Max, he got a 3D Printer for his birthday two months ago, so I asked him for a favor… as you may have heard, Alya’s birthday is coming up soon… tomorrow, to be precise… so I wanted to get her something… original, never before seen, one-of-a-kind. And that got me to thinking about designing a new phone case for her, but… it wasn’t enough, so, after a quaint research, I decided… what about original, Ladybug and Chat Noir phones? So I asked Max about it and he was perfectly willing to help me with it, and well… here we are”  
“This is incredible” Chat looked over the “other” baton/phone “You designed this? By yourself?”  
“Y-yes”  
“How long did it take?”  
“To design it, a few days. I had to do a LOT of research to make sure I’d gotten everything right. See? The screen pops up, just like yours does, and there’s a USB port for charging. There’s also a headphone jack, an awesome speaker, an amazing Camera and recorder, it can hold up to ten gigs of storage space, it can go in up to ten feet of water, and… it’s pretty much just your average smartphone, just… way cooler”  
“This is so cool Princess” Chat stated excitedly as he continued to look through all the apps included… she even had games on here… oh he and Plagg were going to have a talk when they get home “Wait, you said something about Ladybug too?” Mari smiled as she rolled her eyes before she grabbed what looked like a compact, but turned out to be a copy of the famous heroine’s yo-yo, just, as a cellphone, and… bedazzled? “Uh, Princess? Why all the jewels?”  
“That’s what I was working on when you got here… see? If I cover it in beads, it’ll give it a fun texture, as well as provide extra protection incase dropped or such. Of course, I STILL want it to look like the real thing, so all beads are color coordinated according to reality. This one can hold twenty gigs of memory, so I think she SHOULD be good with capturing videos for her blog and such, and once she puts in her SIMS card, it’ll be like her old phone just changed bodies… you know, and added space.” Mari winked  
“So… you’re giving the yo-yo-phone to Alya… then who gets the baton?”  
“Actually” she began playing with her hair “I was going to keep that one… see, it’s part of a set, and Alya and I are best-gal-friends, so it’s only natural we have paired up phones… not to mention that the moment everyone see them, EVERYONE is going to want one. In fact, earlier today, Max and I just had a meeting with Goggle about possibly becoming partners with our design. These two are proto-types, test runs, so we get them for free, but soon… I’ll bet everyone will be using one of these. Hence, another reason to bedazzle them. And besides… I don’t mind letting people know I’m a fan… I mean, you’re part of the hero team… right? You deserve just as much recognition as Ladybug, i-if not more… you have literally, SACRIFICED your life, multiple time might I add, just to save Paris, but Ladybug? She what? jumped into a dinosaur’s mouth? Even then she knew she wouldn’t die, but you… you sacrifice, literally SACRIFICE yourself, and yet… no one else seems to notice… well I notice, and I’ll be if you think I’m gonna let anyone forget of talk down about you, or-”  
“Thank you Princess” she had been cut off by Chat pulling her into a warm embracive hug. After a moment of surprise, she hugged him back, her words catching up with her as she tried to fight back the tears. 

After Marinette finished the yo-yo-phone’s make over, she started on the baton, which… really didn’t need much but green jewels for the paw print, and lines of smaller beads to overlay the groves. Then they played Mario Carts till it was time for Chat to go. The moment he was gone, Mari ran to her phone and quickly saved the new number under “KC =^_^=”, then she smiled, plugged in her new phone to charge overnight, and went to bed.   
Chat however, only made it about three rooftops away before it hit him… he has Marinette’s number… HE has MARINETTE’S number… Marinette, gave CHAT NOIR her NUMBER!!! “Shegavemehernumber” he mumbled as a Cheshire grin began to grow. He quickly took out his baton and saved the new contact under “Princess”, making her the second personal contact he had on his baton, the first being Ladybug. He was happy, yes. She trusted him… she trusted him enough to give him her number. This was almost as good as when he first discovered that he could actually CALL Ladybug at all, and the feeling lasted far into the night as he lied in bed, wondering just why such a small jester made his heart beat faster?


	6. 6. Game Night

Adrien ran into the mansion, ran to his room and jumped onto his bed, grabbing a pillow to squeeze as he let out his giddiness. The day had been good. Alya had invited the ENTIRE class (excluding Chloe of course) over to her house to celebrate her seventeenth birthday, and SURPRISINGLY, he’d actually been able to attend. He’d had to act surprised, however, when Alya opened her new phone and SQUALED like a baby… piglet? No, that didn’t work, maybe a baby… fox? Anyway, everyone was quick to gather around the birthday girl and Marinette when Mari pulled out her own baton phone, quickly adding their names to the ever growing list of “first-come, first-serve” for the new phones. What Adrien had found funny though, was that nearly ALL the girls requested the yo-yo, while the guys requested the baton. Adrien however, requested a yo-yo. It was a no brainer really. People might get suspicious if a certain blonde model started talking on a baton, and really, he’d prefer Ladybug to know his identity before anyone else. Not to mention the fact that he’d get to MATCH Ladybug’s yo-yo, AND he’d be PAIRED with Marinette’s baton!.. woah woah woah… wait… did he really want to… why did THAT thought eve cross his mind? Being paired with Marinette… I mean, technically he’d also be paired up with Nino… his best bud, and every other guy at that, but… WHY did Mari pop into mind first? And why THAT word of all words anyway? Adrien shook his head to clear his thoughts  
“Hey Plagg”  
“I’m not here!” said Kawamii stated from his hiding spot in Adrien’s bedside table drawer. Adrien sighed  
“I have cheese” suddenly the little cat-like creature popped up out of nowhere, quickly snatching the cheese before noticing his chosen’s smirk  
“why are you looking at me like that?”  
“I was just wondering… my baton… can it hold apps?” Plagg swallowed the entire slice whole  
“Can you check the Ladyblog with it?” the cat deadpanned  
“Y-yes”  
“So you can use the internet then?” Plagg quirked an eyebrow  
“Yes Plagg”  
“Then why are you asking questions you already know the answers to?”  
“Huh?” Plagg groaned as he began mumbling under his breath  
“Look kid, the Miraculous, they’re what you call… magic. They change according to the times, making them more suitable for the current user. So while 1723 Chat Noir might not have been able to video chat his partner, YOU can. To be honest, I’d say your baton is more like that girl Marinette’s cell phone, just, you know, able to also be used as a weapon and extend to extreme lengths”  
“So I could have GAMES on my baton?!” Adrien looked like a kid at Christmas. His father had forbidden games on his cell phone, stating that it was only for communicational services. Wait… had Plagg just referred to Marinette by name?! Plagg snickered  
“Sure kid, but I’M not going to be the one to explain it all, for that, I’d ask your little girlfriend, since her baton is PRETTY MUCH set up the same way” Plagg smirked as Adrien began to blush furiously, sputtering to get a word out  
“Wh-WHAT?! Plagg, she’s NOT my girlfriend!”  
“Whatever loverboy. You better hurry. You’ll be late meeting, Your GIRL~FRIEND” Plagg teased  
“Plagg, Shut Up and Claws Out!”

 

Chat made his way across the rooftops as he was, after a brief patrol around town, on his way to visit Marinette. He landed softly on the balcony as he made his way over to the open hatch. He quickly jumped in, only to find… complete darkness. Was she trying to scare him or something? He chuckled as he used his night vision to look around, it’s likely she’d forgotten he had it at all. His Cheshire grin grew at the thought. He began looking through the darkness… his smile began to fall… where is she? “Princess?” just then, light slowly began shining through the room as the floor-door began to open, before darkness consumed thee room again as it closed. Chat froze in place, his back to the door. Before he could turn around, he noticed a red dot on the floor… how hadn’t he noticed it before? He stared down at the dot. Where had it come from? It wasn’t moving. What was it? A drop of paint from one of her many projects? A drop of blood from where she pricked her finger sewing? A dead bug? An ant perhaps? Wait- NOT A DEAD LADYBUG! Chat began to lean down, almost afraid to see what it was now when… it moved. Chat blinked in surprise as it landed on his foot. He bent to try and touch it, but just as he was about to make contact… it suddenly was on the other side of the room. “Hey!” he stated as he ran to catch it. It landed on the wall “GOTCHYA!” it went through his hand “huh?” his eyes widened as he tried to catch it on his hand over and over and over “Cut It Out!” then it traveled down the wall and across the floor. Chat was quick to follow on all fours. “Come Back! I Need To Show You To Marinette!” he pounced at it, grinning as he seemed to have finally caught the little magic bug. Carefully, he leaned in closer as he began to lift his hands, determined to see just WHAT EXACTLY this little… it was gone. His jaw dropped “Wha-” as he began searching aimlessly for the little bug again. “Common, Where’d You Go?!” just then he saw it. His pupils dilated as he lowered himself closer to the ground, crawled ever so closer to the bug, wiggled his butt in the air, and… *SMACK* pounced face-first right into the back of Marinette’s chaise  
“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Marinette fell back onto her bed, laughing her head off “Oh mY GOSH! I… I CAN’T! YOU, Y-YOU ACTUALLY DID IT! YOU REALLY ARE A CAT!”  
“M-Marinette?” Chat whipped his head around to see the girl on her bed… just when had she gotten there? “Wh-w-where did YOU come from?”  
“The stairs, of COURSE silly Kitty…”  
“The… stairs?”  
“You, you know, I KNEW you were up here, and honestly, I just HAD to see if it would actually work… and it DID!”  
“Wh-what are you talking about?” Marinette climbed down from her bed and made her way over to the light switch before joining by his side. She pulled out her new phone. “After Alya’s party, we had a TON of orders lined up for the new phone line, so I had to go over to Max’s place for a little while so we could put in the orders. While I was there though, I had Max add… ONE more feature/app to my phone.” She went to her app storage and selected the app with the little red dot icon. Placing her hand in front of her phone, the little red dot appeared on her hand. Chat’s eyes narrowed before she turned it off and handed him the phone to show him JUST what he had actually been chasing around her whole room  
“A… laser light?” she nodded, trying to hold back her giggles while he was trying not to let her see just how embarrassed he was.  
“Who knew just how big of a cat you really are, Chaton?” she ruffle his hair  
“Hey, hey… watch the hair” he pouted, still a little sore at being so easily tricked… he wasn’t REALLY a CAT after all. Marinette, however, took this as an invitation. Her grin grew “M-Marinette… no… don’t do it” as she pounced at him to ruffle his hair. Having cat-like reflexes though, he jumps out of the way.  
Thus began their game of tag as Mari ran after the boy, laughing her head off and calling out her cute little “Here Kitty kitty, common, let Mari pet your head” to which he replied with  
“Mari, I’m not a real CAT!” she laughed as she chased him around her room. He was debating using the sky light when he realized… it was quiet. Chat spun around to find the girl gone. “Mari?” he carefully looked around the room as he cautiously began walking backwards. Suddenly he let out a “REWR!” as she decided to make herself known but jumping on him from her bed loft behind him. The two rolled across the floor, ending with him pinning her to the floor, both pairs of laughs fading to a stop. Chat looked at her… below him, eyes wide, a smile on her face, hair splayed out on the floor like an angelic halo… his expression softened as he quickly glanced from her eyes to her slightly parted lips, before his hand raised to gently brush her cheek  
“Chat” her hand raised up to cup his… she missed his cheek as her hands kept raising up to the top of his head… before ruffling his hair. She giggled “I win”.  
Chat blinked before the pout was back. Mari laughed “Princess… that was dirty”  
“Whatever alley cat”  
“Mari… I’m not a cat. And please don’t tease me like that… my poor heart can only take so much”  
“*pft* please… don’t think I didn’t hear your little REWR there” she imitated his earlier expression “you are so a cat”  
“That wasn’t what I was talking about” there was silence throughout the room as each took the time to go over his last words… Mari’s eyes widened  
“O-oh, uh-”  
“I-it’s Nothing” he tried to rush out “It’s just… would you mind helping me set up some game apps?” Chat pulled out his baton quickly, trying to change the subject  
“Oh, uh, y-yeah sure. Let’s see what you got” for the next hour and a half they went through all the cat related games in the app store, trying some out before deleting the ones he didn’t want. Then they got rid of the word “games” and looked up just your favorite cat apps, including…  
“Is this one the laser light app you have?” she nodded  
“Mm hm. But I thought you didn’t like it”  
“For myself? No. my civilian life, I can’t screw up or embarrass the family name. If I do, there’ll be DIRE consequences. That’s why I like being Chat Noir so much, it gives me the freedom and independence I crave… I DON’T, however, like following a little bug-like light MINDLESSLY into a wall… but that’s not to say I can’t try it with Plagg, my… cat” or, cat Kawamii, so… basically true  
“You have a cat?” she asked curiously  
“I- uh, I guess you can call him that… really he’s more of a cheese glutton, but… you know” Mari giggled  
“Cheese?”  
“Don’t ask me, that’s how he was when I got him” again, technically true  
“I see…”  
“you would not BELIEVE all the stupid random cheese facts I’ve gotten to know since I found him… Did you know that Cheddar Cheese is never naturally orange? The holes in Swiss Cheese were once seen as a sign of imperfection and something cheese makers try to avoid. Stilton Blue Cheese is known to cause odd, vivid dreams. Gouda accounts for over half of the word’s cheese consumption. Did you know that apparently we French actually have a different cheese for EVERY DAY of the YEAR? The oldest known cheese was from 1615 BC in China, and… closely resembled Cottage Cheese… but his favorite of them all, andmoststinkiestinmyopinion” he mumbled “would have to be, his beloved Camembert. did you know that it was Invented in 1791? Apparently one Marie Harel of Normady had given shelter to a Resistance Priest names Abbott Bonvoust, who, to show her a sign of gratitude, taught her the secrets to Brie’s cheese making. Well, she changed up the recipe a little, and voila, Camembert was born.” Chat smiled to himself as he recalled one of the first times Plagg had ever actually opened up about one of his previous holders (or Kittens as Plagg put it).  
Apparently the PRIEST had actually been his Chat at the time, they had run away, planning to meet up with Ladybug later down the road to discuss what they should do now. They were just about to leave when Marie came running out, nearly out of breath, and gave the Priest the first slice of her modification. Finding it suitable, Abbott asked if she had anymore for his trip home. Three hours later, they had been waiting for Ladybugs signal, when Abbott pulled out the new Cheese and a few cookies she had snuck into his sack when he wasn’t looking. Abbott took the cookies for himself, and offered the Cheese to Plagg… who had actually been VERY picky at the time and didn’t even want to look at it, let alone TASTE it. However, he was officially OUT of his beloved Brie, and his stomach only grew louder and LOUDER until finally Plagg snapped and snatched the new cheese away from the young priest. After his first bite, however, his life would NEVER be the same.  
Chat shook his head to clear away the story, getting back on topic “Camembert was also issued to French troops during WWI. So, you know… a lot of stuff you’d never think of… just, random facts I guess…” was he stalling? Yes. Why? Not even HE knew the answer to that. Marinette giggled.  
“I’ve heard of Marie Harel. In fact, my great-great-great-great-great-great” she took a deep breath “great-great aunt had a painting done with her after their family opened their first shop”  
“Really?”  
“Of course. She was the village baker after all, and everyone knows, cheese and sweets go quite nicely together. The original painting hangs in my grandparent’s house, however my grandparents had smaller copies made for all of us... Wait right here” Marinette ran downstairs and quickly got the old family photo album down. She flipped through until she found the right image and quickly printed another copy before sliding the book back into place. Of COURSE she knew who Marie was and ALL about the smelly cheese, Tikki had nearly EXPLODED when she first saw the image of one of her previous Ladybugs and her best friend.  
Apparently she and Chat were supposed to meet up later after the Revolution was becoming too much for even THEM to control. She was trying to come up with a plan, as she was preparing to leave, when she stopped at the sound of a frantic knock. The Priest had all but fainted the moment she opened the door. However, Marie had a huge heart, so, she put her meeting with Chat on hold and stayed to help the fallen man at her feet. Once he was nursed back to health enough, he offered to teach her the art of cheese. Marie worked for days on end to get it right, and she had two motives… 1. The Priest would not be able to stay there forever, and while he seemed to have picked up the art of cookies quite nicely (though he’d never admit it), she knew the man would need more than THAT to survive… and 2. Chat. Chat often spoke about how his Kawamii LOVED Brie cheese, in fact, apparently that’s ALL he would ever eat. But if they were REALLY going to have to be on the run for as long as she feared… she knew Tikki would be alright with ANY sort of sweets she could find, but Chat’s Kawamii… Finally she gathered the small taste test and ran out to the Priest before he could leave. Panting for breath, she offered him the small sample of the work she called Camembert. Upon seeing his approval, she ran to fetch some more for his trip, sneaking a few cookies in there too to tie him over. After he left, she quickly gathered up the remainder of her cheese dish. Hoping and PRAYING that when she gave some to Chat, that his Kawamii would appreciate it.  
Mari shook her head at the memory of Tikki’s sad-happy face as she told of one of her past Ladybugs, as she made her way back up, finding Chat had accidently opened the Laser pointer app, and was staring, wide-eyed, ears high, very intently at the little red dot on the floor. She held in her giggle as she snuck her way over to his abandoned baton, and carefully picked it up, without disturbing the little dot. It barely twitched as she lifted the baton, causing his leather ears to twitch, and his shoulders to tense. Quickly she swiped the light across the floor, causing Chat to jump into action… before pouncing face first into the back of her sofa. Marinette lost it as howl after howl of laughter came rolling out. Chat stood to his feet, wiped himself down, and folded his arms  
“So you think that’s funny, huh?” he began stalking towards her  
“Chat?” she tried, failing to break from her giggle fit  
“You want something to laugh about?” Mari tried to scoot her computer chair back as far as it would go  
“Chat no”  
“I’ll give you something to laugh about” his smirk turned feral before he pounced the very same second she jumped from her chair. She tried running from him, but she was no match for his super speed this time and once again, they went rolling across the floor. Mari looked down at him as her giggles wouldn’t stop… he smirked. Her eyes widened. And before she knew it, their roles were reversed again. “Sorry Princess, but… I prefer to be on top” her breath caught… had he just said…  
“Ch-Chat?” she asked quietly  
“Marinette” he whispered as his hand made their way from her cheek, across her shoulders, down her arms, before landing on her waist. She caught her breath as her heartrate picked up “Mari” he was getting closer… her eyes grew more as her jaw slightly dropped. She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t move. He wasn’t even holding her down, her body just REFUSED to listen to her. Her eyes closed as she felt his hot breath against her ear “Payback time”. Suddenly she was a squirming, giggling mess as Chat took to tickling her all over until she called Mercy. She laughed so hard, she couldn’t breathe, but when she let out a snort, Chat quickly joined her in her laughter fit. By the time they were able to calm down, they were both laying on the floor, side by side, and had subconsciously found the other’s hand.  
It was nice. Just lying there together, smiles on both their faces, eyes heavy with exhaustion. She could only JUST recognize that his thumb had begun rubbing little circles on her own hand before she let out a large yawn. Chat chuckled “Sorry” she tried to apologize. He shook his head  
“No, I believe that should be my line. I’ve kept you up much past your curfew, and… I do believe you have school in the morning” she blinked at him before breaking into a fit of giggles  
“Chat, it’s Summer Vacation. I don’t have school tomorrow”. His face felt on fire from the latent embarrassment at forgetting that… little detail. HOW could he forget SUMMER VACATION?! But then again, this… WOULD be his first since even when he was homeschooled, his father was COMPLETELY overbearing and had a constant tutor with him every single day.  
“Oh, uh… y-yeah. R-right. How could I forget Summer Vacation?” she smiled before she yawned again. He chuckled as he sat up “Even still, your body is use to going to bed by now for school.” He then stood to his feet, and bent to carry the half-asleep girl, Princess Style, her arms instantly wrapping around his neck “You seem to have over exhausted yourself with our little… game night. You shouldn’t push yourself Mari” he whispered as he gently moved the curled up little red bug-like plushy that appeared to be asleep (one of those Fur Real pets, maybe? He could ask her about it tomorrow) and tucked her into bed. The moment he finished, she turned over to her side as her breathing evened out. Chat stood there a moment longer, admiring how the light from the full moon seem to stream down and make her seem as if she were glowing. She pouted in her sleep as she felt around on her pillow. Chat chuckled. She must be looking for her little plush he moved earlier. Carefully he picked it back up and laid it right where she would feel next. She smiled again as she pulled the little thing close to her face, giving a little hum/purr as she nuzzled into it. Chat gazed at her once more before letting out a content sigh “Goodnight Princess” he gently took her hand and left a soft, sweet kiss to the back of her knuckles “I’ll see you tomorrow” then he was gone. Jumping from roof to roof as he made his way home for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right. Almost forgot... here are the links to the sites I found the Cheese Facts
> 
> kickassfacts.com  
> travelsignposts.com
> 
> Also, the "Historical facts" included about the past LB & CN, Yeah, it KINDA just worked out that way... I mean, who knew that Camembert Cheese was actually invented by a woman who gave refuge to a Priest?! You gotta admit, that in itself set up a pretty good LBCN plot.


	7. 7. Happy Pawing

Marinette sighed as she discarded, yet another failed attempt at the hand crocheted gift. She had been working on these since she got the call, and really, she had to admit that Rose’s idea was actually quite cute, adorable, sweet… you name it. But she was having trouble sewing mittens… MITTENS!!! I mean, it’s not like she asked for much, just that they be fuzzy, warm, can turn into gloves with ease… oh, and that they resemble Ladybug and Chat Noir… Mari groaned as she tossed her head back, throwing her hands up in surrender in frustration  
“Woah, uh, sorry… did I come at a bad time?” and to top it all off, now Chat himself was here… witnessing her breakdown… great. She sighed  
“No, no. You’re fine, sorry Chat. I guess I’m just having a little trouble, that’s all”  
“Trouble? With what?” he began walking over to her  
“My friend Rose, she called me today and asked me if I’d be able to make her a pair of mittens for our friend Jeuleka’s birthday. The thing is though, she wants a pair too, but she doesn’t want them to match… she wants them to resemble our Parisian heroes, giving herself the Ladybug pair, and Jeuleka the Chat Noir pair. And while Rose is okay with just mittens, she wants for the other pair to be able to transform into gloves on a whim.” She sighed as she dropped her head into her hands “The problem is, I’ve been crocheting up a storm all day, and not a single one has turned out right” Chat looked around at all the “failed” mittens all scattered around the floor, before bending down to pick one up, studying the design  
“What’s wrong with these?” he asked as he examined the black mitten in his hand. The pattern had been knitted onto it, giving it a 3D appearance of a green paw print. Chat stuck a hand into it… it seemed to hold well, and fit like a glove, er… mitten… so why-  
“The patterns too loose. There’s small gaping holes that snow could get through and freeze her little fingers off”  
“Wait a minute… snow? Marinette, it’s May… it’s Summer, remember? And last I heard, it doesn’t snow in the summer” Mari smirked at him as she tried to hold back a giggle  
“I know that silly cat, but Jeuleka’s parents are taking her skiing in the Alphes for her birthday this year, and since she’s turning sixteen, she’s allowed to bring one guest… that’s Rose.” Chat pondered this  
“Hmm… okay, you make a good point. When do they need them?”  
“Their flight leaves in exactly one week, so…”  
“Right, right.” he held his chin in his hand as he took on the Thinking Man pose “you said the main problem was the pattern was too loose, right?”  
“Right. It’s like… no matter HOW many times I try to crochet them as tight as I can, it’s still not tight enough”  
“Have you tried knitting them?” Mari stared at him as he seemed to be thinking out loud  
“What?” he blinked, as if he JUST realized he must have spoken out loud  
“Have you tried knitting them?” he repeated, this time aware he had spoken  
“I… no. I haven’t… I-uh… don’t know how” Mari’s face grew red as Chat stared at her in shock  
“Really?” she groaned  
“Yes really. I never learned how to knit, only crochet. My grandmother taught me when I was a little girl, so that’s usually what I do when creating a warm fabric myself. I mean, I THOUGHT it would be fine since it seemed to work well with Adrien’s scarf, but… I guess scarves and gloves/mittens are a different story, huh?” Chat stared at her with wide eyes “Chat?” he shook his head violently as he pinched the brim of his nose  
“Adrien’s scarf? Okay, we’ll come back to that later, for right now though… you need to learn to knit” he stood to his feet and made his way over to her craft supplies  
“Um, what are you doing?”  
“Do you have any knitting needles?” he asked over his shoulder as he rummaged through her supplies  
“Uh… no… why would I if I can’t knit?”  
“That’s alright, we can use these” he walked over and handed her two of the items he’d found… Marinette stared in confusion  
“Pencils?” she looked up to see Chat grabbing two fresh balls of yarn, one black, and one white, before making his way back over to her side “Chat, what are you doing?” he handed her the red ball, sitting himself down with the pink one and pulled out the two other pencils he had chosen for himself.  
“Teaching you to knit of course” her jaw dropped  
“You can knit?”  
“Marinette please, no questions until you’ve caught on. First off, since we don’t have real needles, for the time being, we will use the pencils instead. Now, to begin, make a small slipknot like so, and tighten it, but not too tight, against the pencil. Good. This was the first step. Next, we’ll begin the Casting On. While holding the pencil with the slipknot, use your other hand to make a loop, then you’ll insert the pencil into the loop. While still holding the needle and loop with your one hand, use the other to pick up the other end of the yarn, and bring it back to the front around the pencil. Next, we’ll bring the pencil through the loop towards ourselves, while at the same time, gently pulling on the yarn end to tighten the loop, like so. Next, we’ll repeat the cast on for each additional stich, basically, to form a base we’ll use to begin our stitching. Right. Once you’re ready, we’ll begin with the actual knitting pattern. Now, this matters. Hold the pencil with the cast-on on it in your left hand. Then you’ll insert the point of the right pencil into the first stitch, from right to left. Good. Next, with your right index finger, bring the yarn under and over the point of the right pencil. Ten, with the right pencil, pull the yarn back through the stich. Finally, slip the loop on the left pencil off onto the right pencil. And thus, your first stitch is born.” From here, you just repeat steps one through four to continue knitting. If you were to go backwards however, going from left to right with your stich, it’s called a purl stitch. The final step would be the binding off, but we’ll wait till closer to the end to discuss it.”

They continued in comfortable silence while Mari got the hang of it… thankfully, she was a fast learner. “So…” Mari started “where did you learn to knit?” she kept her head to her knitting, but her eyes raised to gage his reaction. He smiled fondly as he continued knitting himself  
“My mother taught me when I was a little kid”  
“Oh. Do you knit often?” maybe it was a hobby of his?  
“… no” his smile fell “in all honesty, this is my first time knitting since she… well… she’s not with us anymore” Mari paused her knitting mid stich, staring wide-eyed at her hero friend  
“Chat, I… I-I’m sorry, I didn’t-”  
“It’s fine Marinette. I don’t think she’s dead, just… she left the house one day and… well… no one has seen her since.” He continued knitting, focusing on the task at hand, Marinette doing the same, except her mind kept regoing over a thousand different things  
“You should talk to Adrien” Chat’s head sprang up in shock. She had barely whispered the comment, but he still heard it… clear as day  
“What?” he paused, staring wide-eyed at her knitting before taking a deep breath in and refocusing on her work  
“My friend Adrien, he’s going through the same thing… he tries to hide it, but I can see how much he truly misses his mom. I mean, you should see how he looks at mine, or any of our classmates moms. I’ll be honest, I uh, did a little research on her… his mother that is. She seems so sweet, kind, and generous… I can see clearly where Adrien gets it from. Get this, did you know that when she was sixteen years old, she singlehandedly raised enough money through an independent bake sale, to not only fly to Africa, but to build a school AND have a well dug?” Chat’s eyes widened… how did she know this? I mean, he knew his mom was the best, but… he never heard this story before… had she really done that? Maybe he could look it up himself back at home, but for now… he cleared his throat  
“Why were you looking up his mother, anyway?” she paused again, a bright blush covering her cheeks  
“Oh, um… i-it’s just… every year on her birthday, he seems so sad and sullen. I’d asked Nino about it and he said it had something to do with his mom… I figured… maybe he just missed her, so I was looking online for any pictures I could find of her… I was going to make an album for him, you know? But then I stared finding all these articles and… I kinda forgot what I was doing, or why I’d even started researching her in the first place” she giggled embarrassed before returning to her work. They were silent together, each working on their own pair of mittens, when Mari broke the silence “I actually saved all the documents I could find, so… if I can work up the courage… I still plan to make it and give it to him… maybe for his birthday” she smiled gently as she continued her knitting. Chat however, was currently so happy that he was holding back tears. One of his best friends had not only found information on his mom, but was going to make it into a book, and give it to him on his birthday… and that was only around 3 months away! “There! How’s that?” Chat looked up to see Mari holding a pair of black mittens up for him to see. Carefully, Chat sat his work down and made his way over to get a closer look.   
“Hmm…” he took one glove and turned it over to inspect it more. It was just plain black, but it looked to be professionally made. A thought struck him. He handed her back the mitten and proceeded to remove one of his clawed gloves. Mari’s eyes widened at the sight of his real, gloveless hand. “Huh” he stated dumbfoundedly “I didn’t know I could do that” her wide eyes shot to his face as he carefully took the one mitten back, sliding it onto his naked hand, stretching his hand, and flipping the top part to show the glove underneath.  
“You didn’t know you could take your gloves off?”  
“No. I’d never really had a reason to even try it before, so…”   
“Do you think Ladybug can too?”  
“I highly doubt it. Her suit is all one piece, from her neck to her feet. Mine, not so much” for some reason, she pouted at that, and Chat just had to chuckle as he took off the mitten and handed it back to her, putting his own glove back on. “The feel is great, and literally fit me like a glove” he grinned at her glare before continuing “But I’m gonna assume your friends hands are smaller than mine, correct?” she nodded “Here’s my suggestion then… use faux fur as to line the inside. It’ll give a more snug fit while also providing extra warmth. As for visual… maybe add some paw pads on the hand. Oh, and you’ll need a button or something to hold the mitten open when using the gloves” Mari stared at him dumbfounded before bursting it a howling laughter “What?”  
“You knit, you know design… you’re just a regular fashionista, aren’t you?”  
“Hey now, I’m a guy… I believe the word is FashionTEER” he stated with a pout as he crossed his arms. Mari tried to hold back another giggle “I just made it worse, didn’t I?” she nodded, still trying to cover her giggles. Chat sighed as he ran a gloved hand through his hair “I’m gonna finish my mittens now”.

About an hour later she held up the finished mittens with a wide smile on her face “Done!” she beamed  
“Oh yeah? That’s cool. Can I see?” he asked as he sat his down knitting and began making his way back over to her. She nodded excitedly as she handed them to him to inspect. Chat was impressed. She had taken ALL of his advice… inside was coated with lime green, faux fur. She also added the same green paw pads to both the palm of the mitten, and the fingers of the glove underneath the mitten top. Said mitten top was reformed to look like a clawless cat’s paw. Lastly, she took his idea of a button to a whole new level by using a small, golden cat bell, much like his own. Chat looked over both gloves/mittens with awe. The giant smile on his face never fading as he decided to try them both on. They were so soft that it was like petting a new born kitten… he couldn’t help himself… wearing them as mittens, he gently curled each hand together, bringing them both close to his face, and proceeded to move one as if pawing from his face, giving a light “mew”. Marinette lost it. She laughed so hard, she snorted, and nearly fell off her chair. Which, in turn, caused Chat to crack up too. The two laughed until their sides hurt. When they finally calmed down, Mari let out the cutest mew of a yawn as she stretched from sitting in one spot too long. “It’s getting late Princess, you should be getting to bed, you don’t want to stay up too late.” She yawned again as she hummed her agreement as he stood and helped guide her up to her bed… it was almost cute how tired she was  
“But what about… what about you?” she asked as he tucked her into her fluffy warm bed  
“I’m almost done, then I can let myself out. I purromise to lock the window behind me and efurrything” she lightly giggled at his jokes  
“And that’s why you’re my favorite hero… you always… make… me laugh” she finished off as she drifted off to sleep. Chat couldn’t help but to stare at the sight that beheld him… her hair like a halo as the light from the moon seemed to make her glow, her softly closed eyes and gentle smile…  
‘She looks like an angel’ he thought to himself. He gave a gentle smile as he leaned down and softly kissed the top of her forehead. She hummed in her sleep and curled more into herself. He gave a low chuckle before turning back to finish his own project. Before he left, he wrote a small note which he left behind with the newly finished single of the pair of pure white with cherry blossoms on them mittens. 

 

‘I could only finish one, so purrhaps the knight might reveal himself when the matching pair is done. Only the best for a Princess. C.N.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes on how to knit I found online... unfortunately, I lost the exact website I used, but it's all by the book.  
> Hope you enjoyed it.


	8. 8. Fashion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (*prequel*)  
> Adrien was exhausted. Far beyond, actually. He’d spent the majority of last night knitting with Marinette, then trying to finish on his own once he got home… however, he’d run out of white yarn, so back out into the Parisian night he went, only to find the department store closed. He went back home and tried searching through his father’s fabric room, just to find that the man didn’t have a single ball of white yarn… oh he had EVERY other color, he even had a rainbow themed ball, but in place of the white (since you know Gabriel had everything super organized) was a note that read “Purchased more Snow White, due May 12th”. Adrien sighed as he went back to his bedroom and turned on the computer… the soonest the shipment would get there would be a whole week away. Adrien groaned as his head fell to the desk. at this rate, he might as well just wait for his father to order more yarn himself, it’d probably get there faster anyway if it was for a business. Adrien sighed in defeat as he finally collapsed in bed… only for the alarm to go off at that very moment, a knock on the door from Nathalie telling him it was time to get up… he couldn’t focus during his photoshoots as he kept nodding off, even though he’d had twelve cups of black coffee just to try and keep himself awake… it wasn’t helping, and the photographer was getting even more frustrated by the minute. Nathalie pulled the boy aside and asked what was going on, to which Adrien replied honestly “I may have spent a little too much time researching a gift for a friend”  
> “Nino?”  
> “No… Marinette. I h-haven’t seen her in a while and I was thinking of making her a gift to let her know I was thinking about her” Nathalie smirked knowingly as Adrien yawned again, big and wide, adding a stretch in for good measure. Nathalie alerted the photographer that Adrien wasn’t feeling well and that they would try again later, to which the photographer agreed. As Adrien sat in the back seat on the way home, however… he fell fast asleep.
> 
> When Adrien awoke, he did so in his own bed (Gorilla must have carried him in), completely tucked in the way his mom used to (thanks Nathalie) and a note posted on the bedside table “The next shipment for Snow White yarn is set to arrive in four days. When it does arrive, I will personally put a ball aside for you.” Adrien glanced over to see that he still had the ebay pages up on his computer before he noticed another note “The rest of your day has been canceled, take today and rest” Adrien smiled as he fell back into bed, it wasn’t everyday he could sleep in, after all.

Marinette jumped at the rapid knocking on her window as she looked up from her journal and gazed right into the vibrant green eyes and large Cheshire grin of a certain cat themed hero. Sitting at her desk, she glanced from side to side, listening carefully for if anyone else may have heard her squeal, satisfied that no one was coming, she motioned for Chat to meet her at her sky window. He quickly disappeared from sight and she took the time to put away her journal, (internally blushing at what she had just been writing about), and rushed to meet her (though he didn’t know it) partner. “Chat, wha- what are you doing here so early?” she moved aside, letting him enter in  
“I uh, may have stayed up too late last night after I got home, so my care provider let me sleep in as late as I wanted. Now I’m pumped and ready for the fun to begin” Marinette giggled at that  
“You silly cat. What were you doing all night? Chasing mice? Hmm?”  
“Something like that” he blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck. Marinette giggled again  
“Well, you’re already here, would you like some tea or cookies?”  
“Cookies would be great!” he perked up as his face lit up like a child at Christmas  
“Although I’m starting to wonder if sugar would be a good idea…” he nodded his head fast  
“Yes, it’s a very good idea. I can’t have it at home, you are my source of sugary goodness happiness. Oh please don’t take it away” she giggled again as she covered her mouth to try and muffle the sound  
“Okay okay. I won’t take your sugar away. Look, my parents just went to bed, so we have to be quiet” Chat motioned to zip his lips. Mari had to hide another giggle “I’ll be right back, just… be good and don’t mess with anything, alright?” he saluted her  
“You have my word Princess. Cat’s honor” she couldn’t help but giggle at his faux stiff lip expression. Just how much coffee had that boy had this morning? Once Mari had left him alone, he stood still in the same form she left him in… that is, until a box at the side caught his attention… were those… pink feathers?

Mari returned carrying the tray of cookies and milk “Sorry it took so long, you better not have- what are you doing?” Mari stared dumbfounded as Chat turned on his heels, embarrassed at being caught  
“Uum” for there was Chat, wearing not only the pink boa, but also a sun hat, bracelets, rings, big heart sunglasses, a studded belt, and a pair of clip on earrings on his cat ears “… putting on a fashion show?” Mari shook herself from her shock, finished entering the room, sat down the tray, and grabbed his baton from the desk, “Mari?” *FLASH*. Chat blinked in shock of the sudden light  
“Oh Ladybug is going to love this”  
“NO!!!!” Chat sprang into action as he began chasing the girl around her own room, her laughter fueling his adrenaline “Mari NO! PLEASE! I’ll DIE of embarrassment!”  
“Should have thought about that before you went through other people’s things without permission!” she giggled “annnd… sent”  
“NOOOOOO!!!!” he pounced, knocking the girl off her feet in a fit of giggles with him landing on top of her. He quickly grabbed the baton, hoping to salvage his dignity if possible… but it was too late. Chat fell over to his side, one arm raising to cover his eyes “I’m dead. The moment Ladybug sees that I’ll DIE of embarrassment”  
“Maybe she’s not transformed” Mari added with a smirk  
“Doesn’t matter. It’ll pop up the moment she does… my life is over”  
“What’s the big deal?” she asked as she sat up on her elbows to look at him “It’s just a silly picture of a silly certain kitty, putting on a silly fashion show”  
“How would YOU like it if someone sent an embarrassing picture of YOU to YOUR crush?” Marinette shot up fully, eyes wide and jaw (and heart) dropped  
“What?” she whispered, complete shock taking over her features “I-I thought… b-but you’re just friends… right?” Chat sat up himself, looking quite confused at the civilian girl beside him  
“I figured everyone knew, it’s not like I kept it a secret… I’d dare say the only one who doesn’t know… is her”  
“youcansaythatagain” Mari mumbled under her breath  
“She doesn’t take me seriously… it’s all a game to her… like… I joke around, okay? But that’s the only way I know how to express myself, especially with a girl… it’s not like I have that many female friends in my civilian form, and… with mom gone and dad always working, it’s not like my parents are around to ask about it… I could try and talk to my best friend about it, but he’d just assume I was talking about one of our other look alike friends, and not… her.” Chat sighed “I have no one to talk to about this… no one for advice, heck, I can’t even reveal why I even HAVE a crush without giving myself away, you know?” Mari frowned  
“Chat, I…” she didn’t know what to say. She sighed as she decided to just speak from the heart “Chat. You know you two can’t be together… do you know her true identity?” she already knew the answer, but let him shake his head anyway “there’s a reason for that, you know… in every superhero novel or comic or movie… whenever the love interest learns their secret identity, the love interest suddenly becomes more vulnerable to the villain because they always seem to wind up in the middle of the fight, then the hero worries more about them then the rest of the civilians, the villain sees, captures the love interest, and waits for them to slip up and call for the civilian name of their love, even if just by accident or relief… so… y-you two can’t be together.” Marinette pulled her knees up to her chin, using her arms to hold them in place.   
“Why not?”  
“B-because…” tears were starting to form in her eyes “if you two were to get together, she’d want to reveal herself to you, and… sh-she cares about you too much to put you in that much more danger… b-besides...” the first tear fell as she tried to hide her face in her legs “wh-what if y-you changed your mind after finding out who she really is? Wh-what if… she shows you and you… don’t feel the same way for her civilian form? She… Sh-she couldn’t take that heartbreak… not from you… and she… she has a life outside the suite… probably a civilian crush of her own… one that leaves her breathless, heart pounding, a stuttering mess in his presence… she may have given him her heart before having the chance to meet you properly… sh-she’s n-not fickle, sh-she doesn’t cheat, w-wouldn’t lie to him… sh-she cares for him more than anyone else in the world… h-her heart cannot be swayed. I-it can’t… it can’t… it can’t” just then she felt herself being wrapped into an overwhelmingly warm embrace. She lost it as she felt his embrace tighten, she turned her head into his chest and let it all out. They sat there together, Chat gently brushing her hair over with his gloved hand as he tried to comfort her… he may not understand why she’s crying, but she was his friend (one of his best), so he’d let her as he softly rocked back and forth, whispering to shush her (like he remembered his mother would do when he was young) until her tears finally stopped  
“You okay?” he asked softly. She nodded as she snuggled more into his chest. He smiled down at her, before reaching over to grab his baton. She sniffled as he flipped it open and started scrolling  
“What are you doing?”  
“Shh” he ordered before he finished and closed his baton, placing it to the side and holding her again. Just then her phone went off. It was well past midnight… what?  
“Wh-what did you-” she asked as she pulled her phone from her PJ bottoms pocket  
“I figured you could use a laugh” he stated as she opened the attached file. A smile began to form on her lips as she looked at the picture of Chat’s little “fashion show”. Chat smiled as she covered her mouth as if to muffle her giggles. “I don’t know why you’re crying over this, but I hate seeing you with tears of sadness. So… from now on, if you’re feeling down, you can look at your silly kitty and his silly fashion show all you want… as long as it puts a smile back on your pretty face.” Chat replied as he used the pad of his thumb to wipe away a stray tear from her cheek, looking at her with such tenderness.   
“What if I’m in public? Or someone else sees it?” he shrugged  
“Just tell people you photoshopped it. As artistic as you are, no one would doubt it” he smirked.   
“Hm… maybe”  
“You know I’m right” he grinned as he wiggled his eyebrows, causing her to burst into another bout of giggles… that was quickly becoming one of his favorite sounds. She smiled as she pulled up the picture again  
“You know… even for just being caught unaware, this is actually a pretty good shot of you… what are you, some sort of model or something?” Chat stiffened a moment  
“Mari… you know I can’t reveal anything personal like that, right?”  
“I know, I just… I guess I was just thinking about my crush” Chat felt the warmth of his heart suddenly become cold… she has a crush? Wait… why does that matter? She’s allowed to have a crush, and she’s allowed to think of him when looking at his picture… why should would though puzzled him, as did why he suddenly felt so disturbed that someone else caught her attention… Chat glanced down at her phone, noticing the time… it was after 12am. Chat sighed  
“Princess… I’m sorry, but I’m gonna have to get going… as much as I wish I could just stay here with you like this, I have to be up in 6 hours, and I’m pretty sure they’d be mad if I started falling asleep during the day again”  
“Yeah… okay” she stated, yet she didn’t move.  
“Princess?” Chat smiled as he looked down to see that she had fallen asleep. He chuckled as he carefully gathered her up in his arms, carefully carried her to her bed, and tucked her in. He lowly chuckled as he brushed her bangs out of her sleeping eyes. His smile slowly started to fade as he gazed at her before he found himself leaning down as his lips gently brushed over her forehead. He blinked dumbfoundedly as he stood back up… did he really just do that? He covered his mouth in shock… why did he just do that? She hummed in her sleep, he smile growing as she snuggled more into her fluffy blanket, causing Chat’s shock and confused expression to soften into a light smile. “Goodnight Princess”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so... I know that it doesn't really have to do that much with fashion, but bare with me here... I've been out of commission the whole of last month, and this is the best I could come up with... so... hope this is good for you guys.
> 
> Thank you for all your patience with me, and I hope this chapter was satisfactory to you.
> 
> Don't forget to like, share and comment  
> <3


	9. 9. Bell Collar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chat sighed as he landed back in his room, quickly detransforming back into his civilian self in case anyone had decided to check in on him. He had just finished patrol with Ladybug, and by patrol, he meant about thirty minutes searching the city, and about two hours just sitting together. They discussed how long it’d been since the last Akuma attack, what Hawkmoth could possibly be planning or waiting for, and whether they thought they’d be ready if they should have to power up. Then, just as they were standing to bid their farewells, came the surprise Akuma. It probably took them a good hour to an hour and a half, but they finally were able to defeat and cleanse the Akuma. It was still daylight out, but he was feeling exhausted. He was supposed to meet up with Nino today to go see that new movie, but in all honesty, all he wanted to do was fall asleep. Adrien sighed as he messaged his friend that he’d just gotten back from a 5 hour photoshoot and could barely stand on his own two feet. To which he got the quick reply 
> 
> N - NP bro. Mars cnt make it either, said sumthin about finishing a project or whatevs, so I was gonna ask if we could resched 4 l8tr and I could take Alya on a date. Don’t wantchya 3rd wheelin
> 
> Adrien smiled at his best friend’s antics as he confirmed that was no problem, before putting his Phone on his bedside table and deciding to take a well-deserved nap. It was only 2pm anyway.

Adrien woke with a groan at the sound of his phone alert going off. He couldn’t have been asleep that long, heck, he hadn’t even started dreaming yet. He tried to ignore it, but it continued to ping away “UGH!!! Make It STOP!!!” Plagg groaned from inside his empty cheese container. Adrien peeked one eye open as he sleepily began searching for his phone. He sighed in relief when it finally stopped. He had told Nino that he was taking a nap, and that wasn’t the Ladyblog ringtone, so why would he POSSIBLY be texting him… TWENTY TIMES?! Okay. This must be important. Adrien rubbed his eyes to clear away the sleep, finally clearing the fuzz away from his vision and noticed that… the messages weren’t from Nino… they were from… MARINETTE?! Suddenly Adrien was up and fully alert as he sat up and quickly put in his passcode to open up the chat box. Marinette had his number? Since when did Marinette have his number?!  
M - Hey! Srry I spaced earlier, but my 5hr proj wore me out, so I needed a nap. Nyway, After I woke up, my mom told me about this new store down the street… She knew I was wrking on CN & LB stuff, and, well… just LOOK!

Adrien blinked as he started scrolling through picture after picture of fan memorabilia, although what seemed to get him though, was the fact that, while there were a few Ladybug themed items here and there, the majority of the pictures… were based off of Chat Noir… he scrolled though pictures of themed umbrellas, themed T-shirts, themed dolls, but the last picture… that’s the one (along with its comment) that had him stop and stare  
M - OMG, isn’t it the most precious thing uv evr seen? Im SOOOO in <3 with this 1! 2 bad its 2 much…

The picture in question, was of a beautiful, 18 karat golden necklace with a dangling bell pendent. It honestly looked so simple. Compared to all the other amazing images she’d sent him, THIS is what she loves most of all?  
M - OMG! ALYA IT RINGS!!!

Okay… that was cute. Wait… did she just call him Alya? Suddenly things made a lot more sense… these messages weren’t meant for him, they were meant for Alya… is it weird that he kinda now felt like someone had just dumped a bucket of water on his head? Or… heart? This was so messed up… of COURSE she didn’t mean to send them to him… really, his hopes shouldn’t have been feeling so high… why WERE they feeling so high? And why did it feel like the bottom of his soul was pulled out from under him when he realized she didn’t? He shook his head. He shouldn’t be thinking like that. She is his friend. Obviously he and Alya must be the only two A names in her phone… it was an easy mistake. Who knows how many times he’s done the same thing with Nathalie and Nino. … shoot, he still needs to answer her, but hopefully not embarrass her… hmm…  
A – Wow Marinette, those are really pretty

He sent it. And he waited… and waited… and waited… and waited…  
“Ugh, kid, she’s not gonna text you back just because you’re staring at your phone” Plagg groaned  
“Why did she stop texting?”  
“She’s probably just embarrassed that she texted the wrong person. You know how shy she can be” Adrien picked up his phone and started going through the conversation again, stopping at the bell necklace picture.   
“She really does like this necklace, huh?” Plagg flew over his shoulder to get a closer look  
“Well… it’s no Camembert, but I suppose it does have its own little charm to it” they stared at the image a moment more before a slight smile grew on Adrien’s face  
“Hey Plagg… up for a walk?”

Adrien gazed at the open jewelry box in his hand with slight excitement. He had gotten there JUST as the manager was about to lock the doors, and was even able to convince the manager to give him the box as well… Mari was going to be so surprised! “So… when do you expect to give that to your girlfriend?” Adrien’s face lit up ablaze  
“She’s not my girlfriend” not yet… why did he just think that?  
“And yet you rushed out of here like a cat from a bath just to buy this necklace… what, just because she liked it?”  
“She’s my friend Plagg-”  
“So is Alya, or Nino, or Chloe, and I don’t see you begging store clerks to let you in for THEM”  
“She deserves this” he was NOT going to comment on that last part “After everything we’ve been through… after everything she’s done for me… she deserves to be happy” he stated as he gazed at the little bell necklace. Plagg just stared at his charge  
“Are you sure you’re not in love with her? Because that’s something a guy in love would say about the girl he’s crushing on… and I should know… I’ve seen it HUNDREDS of times” Adrien continued to stare at the necklace. Plagg sighed “And just WHEN are you planning to give it to her?”  
“Tonight… I really want to see her smile” Plagg blinked  
“As Adrien?”  
“No, as Chat”  
“You can’t do that” Adrien finally looked up at the floating Kawamii with complete confusion   
“Why not?” Plagg groaned before he pinched the crease between his eyes  
“Kid, think about it, will ya? Who did she send those pictures to?” he gave a moment to let it sink in “Now tell me… how are you going to explain to her how you knew it’s what she wanted as Chat if she told Adrien?” Adrien pouted  
“B-but”  
“No buts, Adrien. This is serious. If you want to tell her who you are, that’s fine. She’s a good girl, and good for you. But she better be a HECK of a LOT MORE than just a ‘FRIEND’ to you for me to be okay with that, got it? You have to trust her more than ANYONE else, know WITHOUT A DOUBT that you can trust and rely on her, and care for her MORE THAN THE WORLD ITSELF, you got that?! And above all, she’d BETTER return your feelings… because I will NOT have another Kitten on my paws, understand?!”  
“But… I really want to give it to her…” Plagg sighed  
“Why not just give her the bell then? She’d never know its from a necklace” Adrien shook his head  
“No, because it’s a pendant… I can’t just give her a simple pendant Plagg, that’d be like… a total insult! No, there’s gotta be a better way” the two pondered together on how they could fix this  
“Does it have to be a necklace?”  
“What do you mean?”  
“First answer me this… does it matter to you that she knows how much you paid for that exact pendant?”  
“No… Mari doesn’t look at gifts that way… she’s not Chloe” since when did he become such the Marinette expert? “Besides… $2,500 isn’t that much”  
“Someonehelpthispooridiotbeforehedoessomethingstupidlikesayoverathousanddollaresispocketchange… Okay, so say you take the pendant off the chain… is it going to affect how much she’d like it?”  
“… well… no… but she deserves SO much better than just a dumb pendant”  
“I’m getting there. So, lets say you took that pendant and put it on another form of jewelry… say… a bracelet… is it going to mean any less to her?” Adrien began to light up as he caught onto what Plagg was saying “Besides, to be honest… a cat bell on a chain… doesn’t really work for me. You could make it SO much better”  
“A bracelet you say?” 

Marinette just about jumped out of her skin when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Instead she quickly reached behind her, grabbed the offending ligament and quicker than a blink, had the perpetrator pinned to the ground, face down, beneath her “I give, I give” she blinked quickly before she quickly jumped back in complete shock as he started to rise to his feet “Well… at least I know you can defend yourself Princess… man when did you get so fast?” he asked as he adjusted his arm back into place  
“Chat?!” she asked in shock “Wha-wh-Why are you here so early?! It’s like, 4 o’clock, what if someone sees you?!” Chat blinked at her  
“Um, Princess… it’s after nine at night. Look, see? The sky is getting dark” she looked out her window to see that… he was correct. She quickly pulled her phone out to verify the time… sure enough, it was 9:15 at night. Her jaw dropped, while his formed a smirk “So just what have you been doing for the past five hours that you didn’t realize time had past? Hmm?” he teased. Her jaw slammed shut as her face quickly turned red  
“N-nothing!” she lied as she snuck her hands behind her, shut her journal and put it in a drawer. Unfortunately, he heard it shut  
“Uh huh. What was that?” he teased as he leaned in closer to her, teasingly reaching his hand behind her. Suddenly her mood shifted as she quickly grasped his hand in place and narrowed her eyes at him  
“Chat” she began lowly “Unless you want to find out just WHY cats hate the vets, you will back up that hand, wipe that smear of your face and leave a girls privacy alone when she clearly doesn’t want to share her thoughts. Got it?” His eyes widened as his jaw dropped. He gulped as he slowly brought his own hand back towards himself once her grip loosened enough. Then he took two slow steps back, still looking quite nervous/shocked at the fireball before him. Since when has she been able to do that to him? Geeze, just what was she trying to hide from him that she couldn’t take a small bit of teasing? Her diary or something? He wasn’t about to find out lest she holds true to her word… and he had a good idea just what she was referring to… Mari, however, smirked as she stood tall with her arms crossed over her chest “So… what’s up?” she quirked an eyebrow “What brings you here tonight?” Chat blinked as he came back to  
“O-oh, right. W-well, i-it’s just… I… I made something… for you” he couldn’t look at her as he felt the overwhelming heat of a blush begin to cover his face… and did he just stutter?! Mari’s smirk fell to a look of confusion   
“For me?”  
“Yeah! I mean… you’re always making things for everyone else, I figured… m-maybe it’d be nice to make something for YOU this time”  
“O-oh. Well..” they both stood there in their places, staring at the floor, unaware that the other was doing the same thing, until finally she glanced up through her bangs and cleared her throat “D-do you… have it with you?” Chat’s head shot up   
“Y-yeah! Just… Here” she looked up to see his outstretched hand holding… what looked like… her miraculous box? Mari’s eyes shot wide as she felt her heart drop to her toes and she kept looking from him to the box. Why was he giving her a Miraculous box? W-was he trying to give her a Miraculous?!?!?!?   
“W-wh-what a p-pretty b-box. I-I’ve” she gulped “n-never seen a box l-like th-that. D-did y-y-y-you p-paint it y-y-y-y-yours-s-self?” her pulse was racing at the implications. On the one hand, it warmed her heart that he could think so highly of her to think she’d make a good hero (boy he didn’t know just how true that was), but on the other… she couldn’t, just COULDN’T accept a Miraculous from him. She couldn’t, WOULDN’T give up Tikki or being Ladybug for anything or anyone! THAT just wasn’t going to happen. But then another thought… did… did he not want Ladybug as a partner anymore? Was she not good enough? Too annoying? Did she finally push him too far with all her rejections? WHY would he be trying to find another partner? Was Master Fu behind this? Did she… f-fail as Ladybug after all? The fear and questions all phased through her mind all at once, the sea of emotions swirling in her eyes so much, Chat couldn’t tell what she might be feeling  
“Oh, uh… n-no. The box itself… it was a gift from a… dear old friend and one of my teachers. The truth is… I treasure that box, it’s very precious to me, and I’m sorry, but I’m actually gonna have to take it home with me, but it was the only thing I had that fit the gift inside since the box it originally came in was too big for easy travel” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, unaware of the enormous relief that flooded the girl before him, and yet, the only sign to show it was the small breath she let out and the small smile that grew in place as she brushed her hair behind her ear, before reaching out to confidently take the box. She unconsciously caught her bottom lip between her teeth as she slowly opened the box (COMPLETELY unaware of just who’s attention that little action caught). Her smile grew at the sight of the little black… collar(?) in place of any form of jewelry. It wasn’t a Miraculous… he wasn’t trying to replace her… she was still a good partner… a good Ladybug… she let out a single clap of a laugh as she glanced up to look at him, her smile only growing wider as soft tears of joy started to pool in her eyes. He smiled back, seemingly surprised and relieved that she seems to like it so much… were her eyes sparkling? She looked back down into the box. He honestly never knew the girl could smile like that, so soft, yet joyful, and still, a little… relieved? He gently took the box from her, removed the collar, put the box back with his baton, and carefully, gingerly, took her hand in his to raise it enough for him to fasten the collar around her wrist. Her happy jaw slackened as she realized the collar with the beautiful golden bell was actually a bracelet.   
“You… made this?”  
“Yeah. Well… kinda… the bell… Kinda came with a different set, but… it made me think of you, so I wanted you to have it. But just giving you a bell… that’s kinda ridiculous, even to think about, so… I went through and found an old belt I hadn’t used in years, trimmed it down, added the holes, found a small buckle and a silver collar clasp to hold the bell without hurting it. It… took a few hours, but… it was worth it… do you like it?” he finished sheepishly. She nodded  
“I love it” she whispered, refusing to take her eyes off it. It jingled a bit as she pulled her hand towards herself for a better look… she squealed “it jingles… It Jingles! Chat, it’s like a REAL Cat Collar!” he chuckled as her easy entertainment. Who was supposed to be the cat again? Her smile never wavered as she purposefully shook her wrist, fully hypnotized by the little bell. He took that time to study his friend. She had on a cute little pink nightgown with spaghetti straps that fell to just above her ankles. Combine that with her bare feet, her loose free hair, her clear/flawless skin, and her beaming smile… never had the name Princess complimented her so well. She was lost in her own little world, gazing at her new bracelet like it was the greatest gift in the world. He, however, was lost in his own little world, gazing at the beauty before him like the stars in the sky (he didn’t even notice the smile that had formed on his own face). Suddenly a single strand of hair fell from behind her ear, and like the cat he was, it captured his attention… but not because he was interested in it, but because it was suddenly in his way of watching her. So he waited for her to push it back… but she didn’t seem to even notice it. How hadn’t she noticed? Wasn’t it in her face? What if it got in her eye? That’d hurt… it’d make her cry… he NEVER wanted to see her cry… without really thinking about it, he reached out, gently to push the offending hair back in place. But the moment his touch met her, her gaze immediately switched to him, a look of surprise catching HIM by surprise. He paused. They stared at each other without a sound. Chat gulped. He, as gently as possible, continued pushing the hair back behind her ear. Her breath hitched as his fingers trailed from the back of her ear to cup her cheek. His caught as she tentatively lifted her own hand to rest and hold his in place. She relaxed into his touch. They looked into each other’s eyes. His eyes flashed from hers to her lips then back to her eyes. Her breath caught again as her eyes slightly widened. He wet his lips, still staring into her glorious bluebell eyes (so blue). Both sets of eyes slightly closed. They began slowly leaning in towards each other. Closer… Closer…  
“Mari” he whispered inches from her lips, before his eyes quickly shot open as he found that the girl before swiftly enveloped him into a hug, burying her face into his chest  
“Thank you Chat… I love it” it took a few moments for the shock and confusion to clear, but once it did, he looked down at the head of his pretty friend, and then he returned her embrace, burying his face into her hair (his favorite smell… Coconut and Vanilla… huh… kinda smells like Ladybug)  
“You’re welcome Princess. I’m glad you like it” she pulled back, unlatching herself from his form, and took to looking at the collar bracelet again, smiling  
“I really do… I can’t believe you made it. This is incredible Chat. How did you even think to do something like this?” Chat shrugged  
“It wasn’t really that hard… you could say… Artistry runs in my family. Now, I wouldn’t say I’m as talented, honestly I can’t think of anyone who actually could be, but I do have my moments every now and then… although, now that I’m seeing it in person, I’d say it actually looks better like this than its original form.”  
“What was the original form?”  
“A necklace” she looked up to him  
“A-a neck…lace?” he nodded.   
“Originally it was just a bell on a chain, and while I see how that can be appealing, I’d say… in order for a necklace to actually work as, like, a bell collar, then it’d have to be like… a-a choker, not hanging down on your chest” he avoided her eyes as the blush overtook him again “Plus… the bell would have needed to be larger to actually look good…. B-besides… I-I can’t see you as being that kind of girl to wear… ch-chokers and chains like that, so… I-I-I w-wanted to do something else. Something… appropriate, fun, and that you could show off to your friends th-that is… if you wanted to” he scratched the back of his neck, still avoiding looking straight at her “Then a friend suggested… a bracelet. And I thought… it’s PERFECT!”  
she gulped. “What, er where… th-the necklace… h-how much w-was it?” she asked nervously, there was absolutely NO WAY that THAT could have been possible… right? He finally looked back to her  
“What? Oh, uh… 25 I think…” Mari let out a sigh in relief  
“Chat… Why in the world would you pay $25 for a necklace if all it had on it was a bell? That’s WAY too much for costume jewelry, although I do still love my bracelet” she asked as she folded her arms and smirked. Chat blanched. $25? He paid $2,500, and yet she thinks $25 was too much?!... better keep that to himself. He pouted  
“But it’s real”  
“I can see that Kitty, and I love it, I really do. But I’m not the type of girl that needs people to buy her things to show her they’re her friends… really for me, a nice walk through the park, or a movie night, or bashing you in Ultra Mega XVI, or even just sitting and talking is enough for me. Chat” she let her hand rest on his shoulder, which was suddenly starting to warm up under her touch “our friendship is more to me than a dollar bill… so much more. Besides” she smirked “it’s not like we’re dating and you’re just trying to overwhelm me with your affections” she teased. But before she could pull away, Chat quickly grasped her wrist, holding it in place… holding her in place  
“So you’re saying” he began lowly as he took a step closer to her, his face quite serious as his tone grew quieter for only her ears to hear “that if we were dating, I’d be allowed to spoil you all I want?” all traces of embarrassment from him were gone… Mari however was a different story  
“B-but… w-w-w-we’re n”   
“Hypothetically then” they stared into each other’s eyes  
“Yeah… I guess so” she whispered. He used his hand to gently lift her head, her eyes fluttering shut as he came closer… before she felt his sweet lips on her forehead. Her eyes opened as he pulled away. He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand  
“Whoever you have in your heart… they sure are a lucky guy”  
“Yeah… thanks”  
“Princess”  
“Yes Chat?”  
“I have to go”  
“What? Why? Your ring hasn’t started going off yet”  
“I know. But I have to… before I do something stupid that could hurt our friendship”   
“What could you possibly- oh…”  
“You’re my best friend Mari. I’d never do anything to jeopardize that”  
“WhatifIwantedyouto?”  
“You don’t mean that. And heck, I don’t even know what I’m saying right now. We’re both in love with other people, and I would never put you in a position where you would have to compromise your values and beliefs. Your friendship means so much more to me than that.” Her heart exploded at that  
“A-alright” he reached down, took her hand in his, and lifted it to place a gentle, lingering kiss on her knuckles. And the next moment… he was gone. Mari stayed there a few minutes, staring at the empty space where he’d left her as she held the hand he kissed to her chest  
“Marinette? Are you okay?” Tikki asked as she flew into her charges range of sight  
“Uh huh” Mari answered as she continued to stare. Then the turned on her heels, went to her drawer and pulled her diary back out from its temporary hiding place. If you think she’s NOT going to update it again after what JUST HAPPENED… think again.


	10. 10. What If

“Okay okay, so what if…” Mari paused for a moment to think “everyone had to wear silly ears to travel by plane?”  
“Silly ears?”  
“You know… like those Mickey Mouse ears you get at Disney World, or a headband with cat ears, like they sell down the street, or clip on ears like the one’s you’re wearing” Chat burst into laughter… first at the thought of his father and Nathalie both wearing paired Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears while dressed all business-like going onto a plane. And secondly at the thought… she thought they were fake?  
“Mari… these aren’t clip ons… they’re real”  
“Seriously?” Marinette sat up from her spot on the blanket that she’d laid out on her patio for star gazing  
“Seriously.” He sat up to sit beside her. Hesitantly, she reached out to them… they flickered at her touch “I can feel that”  
“But… how?” Chat shrugged  
“It’s part of the magic, I guess”  
“Do they do anything?”  
“Well… I can hear better when I’m in costume, so… I guess they heighten my hearing… which is good since that means I’m able to pick up on the most silent sounds during an Akuma fight. They also tend to show my emotions, or, how I feel at the time… apparently they stand straight up when I’m surprised, lean to the side when I’m bashful, flatten against my head when I’m sad, and go back straight when I’m angry… it’s a blessing and a curse. Plus… I’ve been told their cute” Mari pouted as she folded her arms  
“HowcomeLadybugdoesn’thaveanythinglikethat?” she mumbled. Chat burst into another laughter  
“Princess… she’s a bug… what could she possibly have like that? Bugs don’t have ears”  
“Well what about antenna, huh? What if Ladybug had antenna? Or wings? Could you imagine how cool it’d be if she could fly?” Chat blushed at the thought of Ladybug with cute little antenna popping out of her head…   
“Okay, one…” he tried to clear that image from his mind “Bugs don’t use their antenna for hearing… they use them for smelling, and honestly… I already have heightened smell as well… trust me when I say it TRULY is a blessing… and a curse. Remember when Ladybug and I had to take down Horrificator?” she nodded “Do you realize I was holding my breath for the majority of the fight?”  
“Wha- but why? It didn’t stink or anything”  
“Maybe to you, no. but to me… it honestly smelled worst that Camembert cheese, and THAT’S saying something… could you imagine if Ladybug had to hold her breath, while also fighting, while also trying to come up with a plan?”  
“Actually… no… honestly, I don’t know if she could have done it… maybe it’s good she doesn’t have that many heightened senses”  
“Which is why she’s the strategist, and I’m the distraction” Mari frowned  
“You’re more than just a distraction you know”  
“I know. I was just pointing out the obvious. As for the wings… why would she need them? She already has her yo-yo. She zooms across Paris like it’s nothing, plus her yo-yo doubles as a weapon… and a phone… and a tracker… and an Akuma purifier… it’s small, compact, easy to store on her hip without adding extra weight, and indestructible… having wing could… what? Let her fly? Maybe act as a shell? But could you imagine how much they might weigh her down? Personally… I think her outfit’s perfect just the way it is” Mari blushed at that… why was she blushing? “Anyway…” Chat continued “That’s two you used up now, so can I have a turn?” Mari blinked  
“What?” Chat held up two fingers  
“One, what if everyone wore silly ears to travel. Two, what if Ladybug had antennae” he smirked. Mari let it sink in… then groaned in defeat. Chat burst into laughter again  
“Ugh… fine… your turn” she smirked back  
“Okay okay, so, what if…” he stopped to think for a moment. Mari’s smirk grew  
“Not as easy as you though, huh tough guy?”  
“Quiet you, I’m thinking” he teased back “Okay, I got one. What if… it was required by law that everyone have a pet hamster?” Mari blinked at him, before raising her hand to her mouth to try and block the giggles from coming out “What?” she lost it. In fact, she was laughing so hard she was balled over, with tears in her eyes  
“A… a HAMSTER?!” she lost it again  
“What? you don’t like hamsters?” he waited for her to calm down  
“No, it’s not that” she wiped away the tears in her eyes “I just would have thought YOU’D say a cat, or a kitten… I mean… it’s YOU! But a HAMSTER? Why a hamster?” Chat shifted from one foot to the other  
“I like hamsters. My mom use to have one when I was little, it was like my best friend since I didn’t really have that many… but when mom disappeared… dad got rid of it. Just like everything else that reminded him of her. I’mhonestlysurprisedhedidn’tgetridofme,Imean…Ilookjustlikeher” Mari was shocked.  
“Oh Chat” she cradled his face with the touch of compassion. It absolutely THRILLED her to learn something new about her kitty… but it nearly killed her when it caused him grief or self-depreciation. Chat relaxed into her touch  
“It’s okay Princess… I’m use to it” Mari frowned at that… no one should EVER feel like that, should EVER need to doubt their parent’s love… hmm… maybe she should get Chat and Adrien together with her, then she could talk to them BOTH, and assure BOTH of them that there ARE people who really DO love and care for them, even if their fathers can’t express it right… huh… those two sure do have a lot in common… “But… it’s been years since then… I’m over it. Besides… Plagg keeps me busy enough as it is. Plus, he can TALK which can be a great help at times… even if most of his advice is basically turn to cheese” Ah… must be his Kawamii… she’ll save that discussion for later  
“You know… I’ve always wanted a hamster” she states as her hands fall away from his face. His eyes light up  
“Really?” she nods  
“But… I live on the top of a bakery… no fur. And no rodents. So… I’ve always pictured having a hamster with my future husband and family” she sighed as she rose to her feet and walked over to the banister, leaning on said banister as she looked over the City of Love. Chat’s heart quickened at her response. She’d never given her this kind of opening before, and he was honestly wondering if she did it on purpose or if she even noticed it at all… slowly he rose to his feet and walked over to her side as he assumed the same position as she… he took a silent, deep breath  
“H-how many do you want?” she turned to look at him  
“Hamsters?” he shook his head  
“Kids” her eyes widened in shock. They’d never talked about their future like this before  
“O-oh, um, w-well I-”  
“I think I’d like three” he whispered as he looked down from the balcony. Mari blinked in surprise  
“Me too” Chat’s head shot up to look at her  
“Really?” she nodded as Chat’s smile grew… why did his smile grow?  
“I… I grew up an only child, and, while I love my parents and my friends… I’ve always wanted a little sister, or a little brother, but… it was never meant to be”  
“Same here… Sometimes I wish I had an older brother, or a sister, to pick up where my parents left off… not that I’d want to burden them or anything, it’s just… sometimes I could use some encouragement, or advice that… I’m not sure my best friend could help me with… he’s not exactly cool with my crush in my civilian form… actually… I think he and his girlfriend have been trying to play matchmaker with one of our other friends” Mari placed a hand on his shoulder… boy, is it getting hot out here?  
“I know the feeling… my bestie and her boyfriend are ALWAYS trying to get me and my crush together, but every time I see him, it’s all…” she had his full attention. She was obviously talking about Nino and Alya, and… they were trying to help with her crush? “I trip over thin air, my brain turns to mush, I stutter, and my wording gets all jumbled together, like… blah blah blah… ugh! I can’t even form a proper sentence around him” she dropped her head onto the banister. She expected a laugh at how ridiculous she sounded… she waited for a laugh… but it never came. She looked up to see him staring at her in complete shock. What? Chat however, was having a mini heart attack… she likes him? How long has she liked him? How did he NOT NOTICE she LIKED him?! How LONG has she liked him?! Did Nino know? WHY DIDN’T NINO TELL HIM?! Is THAT why she treats him so differently? Gosh, HOW DID HE NOT SEE THIS COMING?! He should say something… tell her that it’s not gonna work. Tell her that he only has eyes for his Lady. Right. that’s what he should do. He shouldn’t go leading her on… it’s the right thing to do. Right. Now all he has to do is tell her…. Why won’t the words come out? “Um… h-hello… Hotel Transylvania pun… really? You’re just gonna-”  
“What if I were a criminal?” that took them both by surprise  
“Um… what?” Chat’s mind was wheeling, not exactly what he wanted say, but…  
“Under the mask… what if I were a criminal, or a bully” Marinette burst into laughter  
“Chat… you have one of the purest, most kind hearts I’ve ever seen… you couldn’t be a criminal if you tried”  
“Then what if I was framed?”  
“Didn’t that already happen the first year you got your Miraculous?” she smirked  
“Oh… yeah… forgot about that one”  
“Try again Kitty, that one was just too ridiculous to even consider answering”  
“Okay, what if, outside of the mask, I were someone you knew” she smiled  
“Then I’d bring you to meet my group of friends to confirm to you that you’re truly cared for and to give you the friendship and attention you deserve… I have no doubt they’d all love you”  
“What if I were Adrien?” he stepped closer to her. Her breath hitched  
“Well what if I were Ladybug?” his eyes widened as she looked him in the eye… they both started laughing as they avoided each other’s eyes, both sharing the same thought…  
‘Yeah right, like I could be so lucky’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I KNOW this is, like, my shortest chapter yet, and I'm sorry, I'll try to make the next chapter longer, I just can't think of anything else to add to this one that won't ruin it, so... I'm sorry. But I hope you like it. ^_^
> 
> Also... that actually seems like it might be a pretty fun game... okay, challenge... Comment to me a "What If" scenerio (Keep them clean guys, there could be kids on here) and I'll do my best to come up with an answer. You could also jump in and give your own answer if you see a "What If" you like... sound like fun?! =^_^=
> 
> Comment, Subscribe, Kudo, and Share  
> Luv Ya's  
> <3


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